Whatever It Takes
by thebloodbath
Summary: AU: What if Marvel had volunteered for the 73rd Games? What if the rebellion was incited later, by a different person? Would it have the same outcome? Marvel/OC. Alternating POVs, I plan to continue through the Quarter Quell and on.
1. Reaping

**Lily**

I can feel my sister's hands shaking as she does up the back of my dress. "We're going to be fine," I tell her over my shoulder.

She doesn't answer. I can't blame her for being scared. District One hasn't had a winner since Cashmere, which was more than ten years ago. I'm scared myself, but there's no need to tell her that.

She finishes with the zipper and I turn around to do hers up. I put her brown hair in a ponytail, tying it with a blue ribbon. "Look at me, Aella." I grab her shoulder and turn her around, looking into the blue eyes that so closely match mine. "We're going to be fine." I repeat. She doesn't look reassured, but smiles none the less.

I think about our lack of Career tributes as we head downstairs. We haven't had a volunteer for five years, and there are hardly any Careers left. People are starting to realize that District Two is usually stronger. Most of our Careers are young, no older than thirteen or fourteen.

My brother, Nicholas, is sitting at the table in the kitchen. He looks up as we come in. He's eighteen. It's his last year in the Reaping. "Morning," he says, pulling Aella into a hug.

I smile at him over the top of her head, then sit down at the table, helping myself to a piece of toast. It's mostly silent at the table as we eat breakfast. I'm sure it's like this in most houses. It's almost impossible not to be scared, despite being from a Career District. When the clock above the stove reads 8:45, Nicholas pushes his chair back.

"Should we go?" he asks. I nod, standing up. It's bright and sunny as I step outside behind Nicholas. How ironic. Our house is close to the town square, no more than half a mile. I look up the road into Victor's Circle as we pass. I can see Gloss knocking on the door of one of the houses. Only three of them are occupied. One is an old woman named Agatha. She won a long time ago. The other is Gloss, and the other is his sister, Cashmere. They won in consecutive years. That was more than ten years ago. Last year our male tribute was close to winning, but he had his throat slit by the girl from five. I try to push the thought from my mind. I can remember the year that Cashmere won, even though I was only seven. We had a big celebration, since we had two Victors in a row.

I can see the milling crowd as we arrive in the Square. We give our names to a woman with bright yellow hair. Nicholas turns around to look at us. "I'll see you this afternoon," he says. "I took the day off. We'll make a big dinner." He works down in the mines, trying to help us pay for our house and avoid being sent to train with the Careers.

I nod. "That sounds good."

He looks between Aella and I, hugging us both once again. He turns and melts into the crowd in the eighteen section, grabbing the hand of his girlfriend, Isabelle. She waves to us and I wave back. Aella stares after him. I grab her arm and steer her towards the fifteen year old section.

"You'll be fine," I tell her. "I'll see you after, alright?" She smiles at me. I admire her for trying to be brave. "Remember our promise," I tell her, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes. I turn and walk away as our escort takes to the stage. He taps on the microphone, and a loud screech echoes around the square. I walk to the seventeen year old section, standing beside a girl I've seen at school. She smiles at me and I smile back, turning my attention to the stage.

Our escort has figured out how to work the microphone. "Good morning, District One!" He calls. Most of us clap halfheartedly. We're not exactly a hopeful group of people.

He walks over to the girl's ball, reaching his hand inside. Five of those slips have my name written on them. Three of them have Aella's.

He swirls his hand around for a long time, picking slips and then dropping them back in. Finally he chooses one from the top of the bowl, unfolding it as he walks back to the microphone.

"Lily Rhymer," he reads.

I stare at him. This can't be happening. His voice is echoes over the silent crowd.

The girl beside me is staring at me. Vaguely, I know I should be doing something. I step out of the roped off area and into the clear area between the age sections. I make my way to the stage, my ears ringing.

A peacekeeper waits at the bottom of the stairs. I pass him and climb slowly, trying not to let my legs shake. How will I die? Will someone slit my throat? Will a mutt kill me? Will someone stab me? My stomach twists.

I shake hands with our escort, who beams at me. I smile at him. He talks to the crowd, asking for volunteers. It's silent. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I feel relief. Aella kept our promise.

Three years ago, when it was her first time in the Reaping, we promised each other that if one of us was ever Reaped, the other wouldn't volunteer. I said that to calm her down. If she was ever Reaped, I would volunteer. I'm older than her, so I would have a better chance of winning.

I'm pulled back to the present as our escort walks back to the microphone, slip in hand. He unfolds it slowly. He clears his throat, leaning towards the microphone.

"Nicholas Rhymer," he reads.

Everything falls apart. Not Nicholas. Anyone but Nicholas. I can see him coming out of the eighteen year old section. He looks pale, but he doesn't look scared. We lock eyes. How is Aella ever going to handle this? My concern for her is stronger than my concern for Nicholas and myself. Who's going to take care of her? I won't let her train, no matter what it takes.

Nicholas is halfway to the stairs when the cameras find the face of a boy in the seventeen year old section. He's stepping towards the aisle in the middle.

"I volunteer," he says, walking towards the stage. He looks completely calm. I've never felt this much relief in all my life. Nicholas walks away, looking completely terrified. Of course he does. He no longer has to act for the cameras. He's going to watch one of his sisters die.

The boy is now stepping onto the stage. I know him from school, though he's not there a lot. I know that he trains, and is one of the few Careers we have left. I think he's the only Career we have left who is older than fifteen. We've talked once, during history class.

I stare at my feet. "What's your name?" our escort asks. I already know his name. Marvel Reves.

Our escort thanks him for volunteering, then tells us to shake hands. I'm forced to take my eyes off my feet and look at him. We lock eyes, then I look away, shaking his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Our tributes for the 73rd Hunger Games!"

I follow Marvel and our escort into the Town Hall. They lead Marvel away. I watch as he disappears into a room across the hall. The peacekeepers leave me in a room with nothing but a couch. I sit down. My hands are shaking. I smooth the hem of my dress, trying to think of anything except the Games and my impending death.

The door flies open and Aella runs across the room, tackling me into a hug. She has tears pouring down her cheeks. I slide backwards on the couch. She clings to me, her arms around my shoulders. I stroke her hair, looking over the top of her head as Nicholas enters the room. He looks sick. His face is pale and he walks across the room slowly, sitting beside Aella on the couch.

"I should've volunteered," Aella is saying. Her voice sounds far away. She clutches my hand.

I turn to her. "The only thing that kept me calm up there was the fact that you kept our promise," I tell her.

She looks at me, her eyes red. "You've got to be strong," I tell her. She nods.

Nicholas takes his eyes off his feet and turns to me. "I'm so glad you're alright," I tell him.

"I wish someone had volunteered for you instead," he says.

Aella starts saying something, but he cuts her off. "Not you," he says.

I smile at him weakly. I hear footsteps in the hall. They're coming to take my family away. I try to keep the panic down, even though I can feel it rising.

Aella clings to me as the door opens. I'll never see either of them again. Aella is sobbing, her arms around my shoulders. Nicholas pulls her off. I'm glad, because the more they drag this out, the harder it's going to be for me not to start crying. A peacekeeper enters.

"Time's up," he says. What's left of my family stands. Nicholas is still holding onto Aella. I hug her one last time, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "Be strong," I tell her. "Please. Do it for me."

She nods. "I will. I promise."

"I love you," I say, putting my hands on her shoulder and moving her away.

"I love you too," she says. "So much."

I smile weakly, turning to Nicholas. The peacekeepers are walking in. "Take care of her," I say.

He nods. "I will."

"I love you," I say. He pulls me into a hug and before I know what's happening, they're both gone. I'll never see them again. I blink away the tears, following the peacekeepers to the train. We've been through so much together, and now I'll never see them again. They're all I have and now they're gone. Forever.

**Marvel**

I step out of the Town Hall after Lily. I can see her boarding the train and follow, turning around once at the doors to take a last look at District One. Gloss and Cashmere follow me. Gloss puts his hand on my shoulder, stepping past me into the train. He's probably trying to reassure me. The door slides closed behind me and the train pulls away. I stand awkwardly in the entranceway of the train with Gloss, Cashmere and Lily. I take one look at Lily's face and feel like I'm going to cry. Her eyes are dry, but she's looking out at the district speeding past the windows with a far off look in her eyes. She's thinking about her brother and sister, no doubt.

"Why don't we all go sit down," Gloss suggests. Cashmere nods, following him into the living room. I follow. Lily follows me, still looking out the window.

Gloss and Cashmere walk easily, despite the moving floor, sitting down on one of the couches. I follow unsteadily, sitting in an arm chair. Lily stumbles forward as the train lurches, grabbing onto the armrest of a chair and sitting down.

There's silence as Gloss and Cashmere look between us. I'm about to say something when Cashmere breaks the silence.

"I'm Cashmere," she says, even though I know her. I'm sure that Lily does as well, since we see them every year at the Reaping. "This is Gloss. We're going to do our best to get you out of there."

Lily is staring at the carpet. She still hasn't said anything. Cashmere clears her throat. "First things first. Do you want to be trained together or seperately?"

"Doesn't matter to me," I say, looking at Cashmere. She nods.

"Together is fine," Lily says, pulling her eyes off the floor.

Gloss claps his hands together. "Good," he says. "Together it is. What do you know?" he asks Lily.

She shrugs. "Not that much. I've never trained. I can climb trees, but that's not much help."

Gloss shakes his head at her, trying to reassure her. "It does help," he says. "Climbing is a good way to escape other tributes."

She nods, but I can tell she's not fooled. What good is climbing a tree if you can't use any weapons?

"How about we watch the Reapings," Cashmere suggests. Lily nods, though she doesn't look excited. I feel the same way. Cashmere turns on the television, and I turn my attention to it.

It starts with District 12, where two scrawny looking kids with dark hair and grey eyes are selected. The kids from 11 are really small as well. 10 is nothing special, but 9 looks like they might be some competition. The boy is very tall, and looks strong. Districts 8 through 4 don't look all that interesting, and District 3 has a tall girl, but she doesn't look very strong. District 2 is a different story. The girl, who's name I believe to be Camilla, is petite, but from the way she walks onto the stage, I can tell she volunteered for a reason. The boy, Ajax, is tall, and he looks strong.

Lastly they show us, and I watch Lily walk onto the stage. I can see a girl in the crowd crying. I know right away that it's her sister, her hair and eyes are the same as Lily's. I watch Lily's face. It's completely emotionless, though I'm sure she was terrified. I watch as Nicholas's name is called. I can see the first sign of fear in Lily's eyes. He looks impassive, releasing the hand of a girl in the crowd to walk to the stage. I hear my voice, and the cameras find my face. I look like Nicholas, completely emotionless. Lily's eyes fill with relief as Nicholas turns around, his eyes now full of fear. Cashmere turns the TV off and turns to us. "Who stood out to you guys?" she asks.

"District 9 and 2," I say.

Lily nods. "I agree. The girl from 4 looked strong," she adds.

Cashmere nods. "Four's mentor is very good," she says. I try to picture who that is, but can't.

An attendant comes in, telling us that lunch is ready. I follow Gloss and Cashmere to the dining room. My mouth literally drops open. Lily is staring at the table in the same way. There's more food on it for one meal than what I've seen in a week. Hunger isn't a huge problem in our district, but we're not usually full. I know it's worse in the outlying districts.

I sit across from Lily at the table. She doesn't eat much. I can't either. I'm too nervous.

I spend the rest of the train ride in the living room, talking with Cashmere and Gloss. Occasionally Lily joins in, but mostly she just looks out the window. When the train pulls into the Capitol, we head to the window to look. I see citizens, all eagerly waving, looking to see which District's train it is. When they see us, some of them wave.

We're ushered into the training centre without seeing any of the other tributes. Tomorrow will be our first day of training.

Lily still hasn't said anything to me. She's probably still in shock. I can't blame her for not wanting to talk to me. We can't both win this thing. I go to bed feeling sick.


	2. Training

**A/N: ** I'm sorry if this seems a bit boring! It'll get more interesting once Lily and Marvel arrive in the arena. As for their backgrounds, those'll be mentioned soon. Enjoy! The more reviews I get, the sooner I'll post, because I'm greedy.

**Lily**

An avox shows me to my room. The bed is huge, with a shiny white blanket and soft yellow sheets.

I put on some soft shorts that I find in the top drawer of a dresser and crawl between the sheets. It's a long time before sleep comes, but when it does it's heavy, and I don't wake until morning.

An alarm that I didn't set goes off at 7:30. I reach out, turning it off and dreading another day at school. My heart flips over. I don't have an alarm clock, the sun wakes me up everyday. It feels as if a giant weight has landed on my chest. I'm not at home. I'll never go to school again. I'll never see Nicholas and Aella again. I bite back a sob, hating myself for being so weak. I need to pull it together if I want to last more than a day in the arena. I take a minute to compose myself, then stretch and crawl out of bed, brushing my hair and putting it in a ponytail.

When I arrive in the living room, Marvel is already seated with Gloss and Cashmere. I carefully avoid looking at any of them. I sit down quietly, feeling like I've interrupted something. Gloss turns to me.

"We were just seeing about allying with the other Careers," he tells me. I forgot about that. I hadn't really thought about allies. I don't consider myself a Career, since they're supposed to be strong. I've never even trained. "Are you interested in that?"

"I'm not sure," I say. I don't think they'll want me, but there's no need to tell everyone that.

Gloss nods. "That's alright," he says. "You can decide after training." He checks his watch. "It starts in half an hour. You both need to eat something."

He leads us to the table, heavy with more food than I've seen in a long time. I grab an apple and a piece of bread, since they're the only items I recognize. I drink water and before I know it, Cashmere is shoving matching shirts with a number 1 on them into our hands and pushing us into the elevator. I pull the shirt over my head and press the button that says lobby. Marvel pulls his shirt on and we ride in silence.

When we walk into the training room, the other tributes are all in a circle. They stare as we come in. I look over their heads, looking at the items that fill the cavernous room. Dummies, high ropes, spears, axes, knives, survival stations, weights, targets and a huge wall made of rock. I feel my stomach drop as I look at all the weapons. All the weapons I don't know how to use.

We take our place in the circle. We're dismissed, but I don't know where to go. Both of the tributes from two head straight for the weapons. I look away, feeling sick.

"Should we stay together?" Marvel asks.

I nod, feeling an odd sensation of relief. "Where do you want to start?"

He shrugs, scanning the room. Most of the survival stations are empty, so he suggests we start there. I follow him across the room, avoiding looking at the other tributes. There's a small boy with blond hair who I can't help noticing. He looks so young. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't guess him to be older than ten. He's having a lesson with throwing knives.

Marvel stops at one of the tables and I stand beside him. It's covered with leaves and berries. The instructor welcomes us warmly, and we stay there for over an hour, until I can tell the deadly plants and berries from the safe ones with my eyes closed. I'm glad to know the difference. It's a useful thing to know in an arena full of strange plants.

We visit a few other stations. I have a lesson with throwing knives. I'm horrible. I can hit the dummy, but not always in a fatal spot. I'm better with axes. After two hours, I can hit the dummy in the stomach on every shot, which is certainly better than nothing.

During the last half hour of our training time before we have to head back upstairs, Marvel turns to me.

"I can feel District 2 watching us," he says to me quietly.

I wait a second and glance over my shoulder. Sure enough, both of them are watching us. I adjust my knees. They hurt. I've been kneeling on the floor for twenty minutes beside Marvel, trying to get a fire going. We're not having much success, even with the help of the instructor. I hope I can get my hands on some matches.

"What do we do?" I ask.

Marvel shrugs. "Nothing, I guess. Just go on as normal."

I practice my axe throwing, and Marvel goes to some survival stations. At one point I look over and see the boy from Nine lift a hundred pound weight and throw it a good distance. He's going to be some serious competition.

**Marvel**

I spend the next few days of training at the survival stations. I learn how to cook meat safely, purify water, build more complicated snares, tie knots, and secure myself into a tree. I also learn a lot about edible plants. Between us, Lily and I have been to all the survival stations, so I figure we can teach each other if the time comes. We still haven't talked to the Careers, but we agreed that we'll ally. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remind myself that either one of us could be killed in the bloodbath, but I try not to think about it.

"What are you going to do in training tomorrow?" Lily asks me, holding an axe in her left hand. She's finally started talking, though her blue eyes look hollow and sad. Last night during dinner she told Gloss that she wasn't going down without a fight. I admire her for that. Our private sessions and interviews are tomorrow. I've pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind, which probably wasn't a good idea.

"I don't know. Throw, I guess. What are you going to do?" I'm good with throwing spears, and I'm decent with knives. I've been trying to help Lily learn, but she's much better with axes.

She thinks for a second. "Throw knives, maybe throw an axe. I'll climb the rock wall, not that that's really going to help me get a decent score." I've seen her climbing on the wall. She's really good. She can get to the top almost as fast as the instructor, despite only having started two days ago. The other tributes have noticed too. Ajax and Camilla, from Two, started whipsering last time she climbed.

"You should throw the spear," I suggest. "You're pretty good with it."

She shrugs. "I'm not nearly as good as you."

"It's better than nothing, though. Did you watch District Two at all? Camilla is really good with throwing knives and swords, I saw her hit a dummy in the head from across the room. Ajax is good at hand to hand combat. I saw him fighting an instructor."

Lily gulps. "Did they talk to you about an alliance?"

"No. Maybe they're waiting until after training?"

"Yeah. Maybe." She's unconvinced, and so am I.

We're ushered into the elevator. Gloss and Cashmere give us another talk. We eat dinner then head to bed. We have to be ready for our private sessions and interviews, which are to take place tomorrow night.


	3. Arena

**Lily**

The same alarm that woke me on my first morning here buzzes in my ear. This time, there's no moment where I don't remember where I am, no moment of blissful unawareness.

I force myself out of bed and dress quickly, then eat breakfast with Cashmere. Marvel appears a few minutes later, grabbing an apple. Cashmere wishes us luck, then walks us to the elevator.

By the time we arrive dowstairs, all the tributes are already waiting. Marvel goes in first, and I don't see him again afterwards. I feel anxious, standing in the room of tributes. It's mostly silent, but the pair from Two are whispering, and I'm sure it's about me. I try to ignore them, looking at my hands. After about twenty minutes, they call my name and I enter the training room.

I head straight for the axes. I grab the one I've been using all week, aiming at a dummy a good distance away. I throw, and the axe slams into the area that would be the stomach, if it was a person. Not fatal on contact, but certainly lethal. The Gamemakers look impassive. Not impressed, not unimpressed. I head for the station where I learned how to rapel and climb the rock wall, using the handholds. I secure myself with ropes, and am down in under twenty seconds. This seems to impress the Gamemakers. I head back to the knives, knowing my time is almost up, and manage to hit three of four dummies in the head, and the other one in the neck. They dismiss me, and I ride the elevator alone.

I come to our floor and find Gloss, Cashmere, and Marvel all seated at the table.

Marvel turns away from Gloss and looks at me. "How did it go?"

I sigh and sit beside Cashmere. "I threw some knives, used an axe, and showed them what I learned at the rope station." I explain about rapelling down the rock wall. "How about you?"

"I just used the spear and showed them some of the things that I learned at the survival stations."

"I was talking with Cashmere and Marvel about the interviews tonight," says Gloss. He explains to me that I just need to act as I would normally.

After dinner, we all head to the living room to see the scores. Being the boy from District 1, Marvel is first. His face appears, followed by the number 10. I gasp. Hardly anyone gets a score that high. I turn to Marvel. He's staring at the screen.

"I have no idea what I did," he says. I wonder briefly if he's lying, then try to push the thought from my mind. Why would he lie to me? He already knows he's stronger than me; he could kill me in my sleep as soon as we're in the arena, if he wanted to.

My face appears next, followed by the number 8. I wince. It's not good, but not horrible.

District 2 is next, and Ajax receives a 10. He must know something other than hand to hand combat to get that high of a score. Camilla gets a 9. The girl from Four, whom I noticed during the Reaping, gets a 9.

The other scores are all low, and some of them get the same score as me. When it gets to District 9, the boy, who's name I learn is Hugo, gets an 11. That's unbelievable. I'm certainly going to have to watch out for him.

The program ends and Marvel and I are escorted to our rooms to prepare for the interviews.

My stylist puts me in a blue dress, which shimmers like a sapphire when I move. He straightens my hair and puts it in a ponytail and hands me a pair of sandals, which I slide onto my feet. The overall appearance is amazing. I look older, somehow. He leaves my face without any makeup.

I go back to the living room. Marvel is sitting on the couch, once again in deep discussion with Gloss. Cashmere stands up, beckoning Marvel to follow her. She leads us to the elevator.

"Just be yourself," she tells me. She knows I'm nervous.

My interview is very first. Marvel and I take our place at the head of the line, but we're still early. I'm talking to Marvel when Ajax and Camilla walk over.

They talk with Marvel and are talking about an alliance. I'm quiet the whole time. Ajax comments on Marvel's score in an offhand way. He must be impressed.

"I asked Hugo, from Nine, if he wanted to join, but he said no for some reason," Ajax reports. Marvel just shrugs.

Ajax is talking quietly now, and sort of turning his back so that I'm half out of their little circle. He shoots me a furtive glance, then continues his discussion with Marvel. I wander away. I'm walking towards the back of the line when the girl from Four taps my arm. I turn to her, a bit too fast, and she steps back a bit. I look at her.

"Are you guys making an alliance?" she asks.

I nod. No point in telling her I'm most likely not in it. I size her up. She's an average height, and seems to be in good shape. She was the one who had a nine.

"Why?" I ask.

"I just thought maybe you'd be interested in an extra member. I'm Thalia."

"I'm Lily," I say. I glance over my shoulder. Marvel looks angry, and he's saying something to Ajax. They seem to be debating over something.

"I'd like that," I say. We talk for a little while more, and I learn that she volunteered for her cousin. "She's only twelve," she explains. Thalia is seventeen, like Marvel and I.

"That was really brave of you," I say, and I mean it.

"I'm sure you would've done the same if you had a sister," she answers.

"I do have a sister," I tell her, and we talk about our families. Thalia has a sister as well, but she's twelve. It feels good to talk about Aella and Nicholas. I even tell her about Isabelle, Nicholas's girlfriend. She's practically family. We keep talking, but soon the peacekeepers tell me to get back in line.

"I'll explain all of that to you later," Marvel manages to say."Good luck."

I don't have time to answer before they're calling for me on stage. I walk out, squinting in the bright lights. Caesar sees me and grins, and I take a seat in the chair.

"So good to meet you!" he says.

"You too," I reply.

"Now," he says, settling back in his chair,"you must have so many thoughts going through your head right now. What are you thinking about tomorrow?"

I think for a second. Cashmere's voice is in my head. _Be yourself._ I decide to take her advice.

"I'm not sure," I say. "I'm going to miss my brother and sister."

Caesar gives me a sad smile, even though I'm pretty sure he doesn't care, as long as he gets to see me die.

"I'm sure that your family was sad to see you go. Your sister seemed pretty upset in the crowd."

I nod. "I can't believe I had to leave them."

Caesar looks as if he's actually going to cry. "There must've been so many thoughts going through your head."

I see that they're replaying it on a screen above his head. I look impassive, my face so different than the thoughts going through my head. Nicholas is called and I see the first sign of real fear in my eyes.

Caesar nods. "You've been so strong, going through all of this."

I don't know what to say to that, so instead I just look at the screen. It turns off, and Caesar begins talking once again. "Your training mark was impressive. Care to elaborate?"

I shrug. "I just did what I knew how to do."

We talk for a little while longer. He comments on my dress, and wishes me luck. I thank him and walk off the stage.

I head back up to the apartment, and by time I get there, Marvel is already seated in the chair. He's a lot more relaxed than me. I can tell from the way he sits in his chair, and easily starts the conversation.

"...the reaping. Why did you choose to volunteer?" Caesar is asking.

Marvel stares into the crowd for a second. "I couldn't let her go into the arena with her brother," he says, looking at his hands. "I'd never forgive myself. Her sister would've been all alone."

Caesar really looks like he's going to cry now, and he's not the only one. I try to contain a sob. I can't believe that's why he volunteered. He could be lying, but somehow I doubt it. It's hard not to trust him, even for me. He's right, Nicholas and I are the only people Aella has left. She's lost almost everything, and now she's going to lose her sister.

The sound of cheering pulls me out of my thoughts. Marvel is walking off the stage. I pull at a loose thread on my dress. I feel bad for not trusting Marvel and assuming the reason he volunteered was because he thought I was weak and would be easy to kill. He's the first person I've met in a long time where I feel like he could earn my trust.

The elevator doors slide open and Marvel steps out, running his hands through his hair. I turn around on the couch and look at him. "That's why you volunteered?"

He nods. "No one should have to go into the arena with a sibling. Nicholas was the last person your sister had left." He walks over and sits beside me on the couch. We continue watching.

Camilla is up next. She doesn't talk a lot, like me, and the only thing she's willing to elaborate on is her score, which she seems quite proud of. I decide I don't like her. It's a good thing I won't be in an alliance with her.

Ajax is next, and he's more talkative. He says he's excited, which is typical. District Two are always some of the most lethal competitors. He gets complimented on his score, and he talks about what he hopes the arena will be like. I zone out for most of it.

Three goes by in a blur, but I watch as Thalia walks onto the stage. She's dressed in a dress that shimmers like the surface of the small lake in District 1, and her hair is adorned with seashells. She greets Caesar and sits in the chair. Compared to the rest of the tributes, she seems the most at ease, and she's by far the most talkative. She talks about her cousin, and how she volunteered for her, despite never having trained before. She also talks about her skills, but doesn't specify. I can tell that the audience loves her. She seems so genuinely happy the whole time.

Once again I zone out. The tributes are pretty boring. Marvel nudges me as Hugo takes to the stage. He saunters to the chair and sits down. Throughout the course of his interview, he hardly says ten words. He answers most of Caesar's questions with one word, and brushes off the compliments about his score. If you're the right size, you can act like that, because sponsors figure you're strong. To me he just seems arrogant. Something about his eyes scares me, though I'm not sure what.

The interviews end, and Marvel turns to me. "I'm sorry for ignoring you in the line. Do you want to ally with Ajax and Camilla? They said they want us both."

I don't, but I say yes for his sake. We're safer in a pack at the beginning, though I don't trust Camilla at all, nor Ajax for that matter. "Thalia, the girl from Four, wanted to be in our alliance. I was talking to her in line."

He nods. "They wanted her, but wanted to see if she'd come to them. She looks strong, and her training score was impressive."

We sit in silence for a few minutes, and I'm deep in thought. "Did Ajax and Camilla actually want me?" I ask.

Marvel hesitates for a split second, and doesn't look me in the eye. "Yeah."

"Marvel, I can tell you're lying. Just tell me the truth."

"No," he admits. "But I said if they wanted me as an ally, they would have to accept you too. I'd rather ally with you than them, if it came down to that."

I stare at the floor. So they do think I'm weak. I should've known. Hopefully we can leave them quickly.

Cashmere and Gloss bring us two plates of food, and we eat on the couch. I'm not hungry, but Marvel makes me eat all of it, saying that we need our energy for tomorrow.

I fall asleep to thoughts of dead tributes.

**Marvel**

Gloss knocks on my door early in the morning, before my alarm has a chance to go off. I hardly slept at all, and when I arrive in the living room, I can tell it's the same for Lily. She has dark circles under her eyes, but she looks alert.

Before I realize what's going on, I'm boarding the hovercraft. I look out the windows until they black out. The ride is long. I tell Lily to drink as much water as she can. I eat some crackers, but they taste like glue. I try to appreciate them, knowing I'll most likely be starving before I die.

The hovercraft lands, and Lily and I have to go to our seperate launch rooms. An outfit is layed out on the lone plastic chair in the corner of the room. Light brown pants with lots of pockets and skintight leggings for extra warmth. A fitted black jacket. It looks like it protects from rain. A pair of combat boots, that also look like they would keep water out.

"Ten seconds," a female voice says, and I make my way to the glass tube that will carry me into the arena. The glass seals shut, and all I can hear is my own ragged breathing as the plate lifts up.

I squint, preparing for sun, but it's foggy. My eyes take a second to adjust, but then I can make out the other tributes, in a semi circle around the Cornucopia. I look for Lily. She's sixteen plates to my right. Ajax is two plates to my left, and I can't see Camilla. I see Thalia, on a plate near Lily, and we make eye contact. I nod, signalling that she's in our alliance.

I take in my surroundings. The Cornucopia sits about 10 feet away from a cliff, but I can't see what's at the bottom. Something tells me it's not something I should be falling off. Beyond the cliff are mountains, and it's a spectacular view. There's a lake in view, and behind me is forest. I look for a good climbing tree, but can't see any. They're all pine trees, and the branches don't start until what I guess to be twenty feet or more. The tops are hidden in the fog. It's really thick, and I can hardly see fifty feet into the forest. I wonder what kind of animals are in there. I turn my attention back to the Cornucopia. The two tributes beside me are really small. One looks like they might be from District 12, the other I believe to be from Three. He's tiny. I hope I don't have to kill either of these two. I don't know if I could do that. Two plates away from me, beside the boy, is Hugo, the one who had an eleven in training. I can see the girl, the one I believe to be from Twelve, shaking as she stands on her plate.

I look at the clock above the Cornucopia. It reads four seconds. I brace myself. I can see a knife a couple dozen feet away and set my sights on it. The gong rings, and I sprint to the knife. Almost immeadiately, the boy on my left falls, blood staining the rock around him. I see Hugo dropping his body, holding a bloody metal spike. I grab the knife, sprinting for the Cornucopia. I see Camilla and run up to her.

"Try not to let anyone take anything," she yells over a piercing scream that comes from somewhere to my left. I nod and she runs off.

I look around for Lily, but instead hear footsteps. There's someone right behind me, and I spin around. It's a boy. He brandishes a mace, and is preparing for a swing. He never gets a chance, because I throw my knife, burying it in his chest. I turn and run, now weaponless. I'm almost at the mouth of the Cornucopia, and I grab a spear that sits on a box, which appears to hold a tent. I can see Lily emerging from the Cornucopia, her eyes wide. The knife she carries is covered in blood. She doesn't see me, and heads towards Ajax, who is standing over the body of a boy, who's writhing on the ground. I turn away, feeling sick.

All around me, tributes lie dead or dying. At least eight. Some may have run into the forest, but I can't see past the fog.

Thalia runs up to me, her sword covered in blood. "You alright?" I ask her.

She nods. "I think so. Everyone's gone." She's right. I can make out one shape sprinting into the forest, clutching a backpack.

A yell interrupts my reponse to Thalia. "Marvel!"

I spin around, my heart pounding. A boy has his arm around Lily's neck. He has no weapons that I can see, but he's dragging her towards the edge of the cliff. I turn and run towards them, throwing the spear I grabbed from a fair distance. At first I think it's going to miss, but it catches the boy in the chest. He crumples to the ground and Lily staggers away, gasping for breath.

I run over to her. Bright red hand prints circle her throat. She staggers and I put my arms out to steady her.

"Thank you," she gasps.

"I'm glad you're alright," I say.

She clears her throat, looking at me. Thalia runs over, sword in hand. Ajax and Camilla walk behind her.

"We don't think anyone managed to take much," Thalia tells us.

Ajax nods, coming to stand beside her. Lily is massaging her neck, looking around. She doesn't have any weapons, but there are plenty back at the Cornucopia.

Most of the supplies that ring the Cornucopia seem untouched. Some of the dead tributes clutch weapons in their hands. I see the boy I killed, my knife buried in his chest, and look away. Ajax is examining the supplies littered around. "No food," he reports. Camilla sighs, and Thalia looks put out. I exchange a glance with Lily, but we don't say anything. We're at a bit of an advantage, since we went to the survival stations, whereas the rest of our group didn't. I make a mental note not to tell them what's edible and what's not, so that once we break the alliance, they won't have anything to eat.

"Go look in the Cornucopia," Camilla orders Lily.

Lily looks back at her, her face pale and her eyes wide. "The Cornucopia?" she repeats.

Camilla nods her head impatiently. "Are you deaf? That's what I said."

Lily walks away slowly. She looks in the entrance then turns around. "There's nothing much in there," she says. Her voice is a bit unsteady.

Camilla nods, turning her back on us and digging through a box.

"Why don't Lily and I go look for some food?" I suggest. I'm eager to get her away from Camilla.

"Fine," Ajax says, not looking at me.

Lily follows me towards the forest.

"Are you alright?" I ask, as soon as we're out of earshot of the other Careers.

"Yeah. Thanks for saving me from that boy. That cliff must be 80 feet tall, and there are rocks at the bottom."

I nod. "Don't worry about it."

We easily find some plants with leaves that I remember being edible from training. We walk back to the Cornucopia and find that the others have dragged everything inside. Ajax thanks me, but ignores Lily. We eat the leaves. A cannon startles me. They continue until they reach ten. Someone else must've died in the forest. There are fourteen people left. Thirteen children left. Thirteen children who will die in this sadistic game.


	4. Cold

**AN: T****his is a bit of a filler chapter, but I'm going to post a long with lots of action soon, probably in less than a day. I just have to finish proof reading it. **

**Lily**

Darkness settles in quickly, and the talk turns to setting up camp. I offer to take first watch, but Ajax declines. Marvel says he'll guard with me, and though Ajax is still skeptical, he agrees. It turns out that there are only three tents included in the supplies, so Marvel and I decide to share one. He's the only person I trust not to stab me in my sleep. We sit outside the ring of tents for our shift. Though there's no food included in the bounty of the Cornucopia, there are lots of survival tools, like matches, flint, tents, rope, and even some binoculars. The tents were only inside the Cornucopia, so no one other than our group has one, as far as I know. The anthem plays, and I look up from the clip I was fiddling with. The deaths start at District 3. The boy from Thalia's district is dead. He didn't want to be in our alliance. I see the boy from Five. The one I met inside the Cornucopia. I look away, feeling sick. Most of the tributes left are smaller than me, but that doesn't mean they're weaker. My heart sinks when Hugo's face doesn't appear. Something about him, more than just his high training score, scares me.

Within half an hour of the sun sinking, the temperature is below zero. I know there are warm sleeping bags waiting in our tent, but that doesn't help us at the moment. The jacket and pants are warm, but my hands are freezing. I stand up to search for a pair of gloves, but can't find any.

I sit back down beside Marvel, rubbing my hands together.

"Here," Marvel says, turning to me. "Give me your hands."

I stretch out my hands and he takes them both in his, trying to warm them up. I try to ignore the fact that my stomach does a flip when he touches me. I look at him, then look away, embarrassed, as he looks back at me.

"Is that better?" he asks.

I nod. "Thanks."

"No problem," he says.

I rest my chin on my knees, looking up at the moon. It's covered by a thick layer or fog, providing almost no light. No matter how much I try to push it from my mind, I can't help but think of home. I wonder if Aella and Nicholas are watching right now. Probably not, since it's the middle of the night. I'm sure they've been watching, though. I wonder what they think of what I did during the bloodbath. I know what I think of it. Their sister has become a murderer. When I'm dead, I hope they remember me as I was before the Games, not during.

When the moon is a quarter of the way across the sky, Marvel wakes Thalia. I crawl into my sleeping bag, my head at Marvel's feet. I fall asleep slowly, even though I know that Ajax and Camilla wouldn't try anything with Marvel right beside me. I can't stop thinking of what I did. What am I going to have to do to go home to Aella and Nicholas?

**Marvel**

When I wake, I think it's before dawn. Lily is still sleeping, her head by my feet. I lie on my back, looking at the roof of the tent. I don't want to wake her up. She needs as much sleep as she can get.

After a few minutes she rolls over, opening her eyes blearily. I smile at her and she smiles back, sitting up.

I crawl out of the tent and see that the sun is already well above the horizon. The fog makes it a lot darker than it normally would be. Lily follows me out, and Ajax instructs her to go find some food. She stands up, and I make to follow her.

"You're staying here," Ajax says to me.

"You guys are fine, I'm going with her," I say. I'm not letting her go alone, and Ajax can't stop me. I turn my back on him and walk away, following Lily.

"You can stay," Lily whispers to me as I catch up to her.

"I don't want to," I say, and it's true.

We head into the forest, once again easily managing to find some edible plants. On the way back to camp, I notice that the plant we took leaves off of yesterday has died. That's weird. I'm going to point it out to Lily, but she's already a ways ahead of me.

We eat, and Ajax suggests we go hunting.

"Who's going to stay and guard?" Camilla asks.

"I will," Thalia says.

Ajax, who has clearly labelled himself leader of our group, agrees. I don't want to go hunting. I don't want anyone else to die. I push the thoughts to the back of my mind, feeling guilt in the pit of my stomach.

Camilla leads the way into the forest, and I follow. I brought a few knives in my belt, as well as a spear that I grabbed from the Cornucopia. Lily walks in front of me, clutching an axe.

We walk for a long time, stopping to eat some leaves and berries along the way. Ajax is getting frustrated with the lack of kills.

"I could climb a tree," Lily says.

"How do you plan to do that?" Ajax asks, narrowing his eyes at her.

She glares at him and pulls out a length of rope from her backpack. She walks past a few trees, looking up to the tops high above us. She stops at the base of one, using one of the clips from the Cornucopia to secure the rope to her belt. She throws the rope, and after a few shots manages to loop it around one of the lower branches. Using the axe, she's perched on the lowest branch in less than a minute. She looks down. I smile at her, shielding my eyes against the sun and waving. She grins and waves back, then scans the horizon. Ajax rolls his eyes, though I'm not sure why. She rapels back down with no difficulty.

"I saw something to the left," she says, squinting in the sun and looking at Ajax.

"Alright," Ajax says. "We'll go that way, then."

I can't believe he's letting someone else lead our group. Lily walks in the direction she pointed to. I follow. Ajax walks behind me, followed by Camilla.

Lily walks for a few minutes. I try to be careful not to step on anything other than pine needles, which do a good job of muffling my steps.

I hear a footstep and freeze in my tracks. I stop so suddenly that Ajax slams into me. I turn around as he opens his mouth, probably to insult me for being so unaware. I bring my finger to my lips, signalling him not to say anything. Luckily he listens, bringing the axe he carries into a throwing position.

A few feet ahead of me, Lily has stopped. She's looking back at us. I signal her to be quiet and she nods. I hear another footstep, somewhere ahead of her. She turns towards it, but I put my hand on her shoulder, stepping in front of her. I don't want her fighting anyone, if I can help it. It'd be easier to die than see her die, knowing she has a family waiting back home for her. There's no one waiting back home for me.

We walk for a few seconds before I hear the sound of something connecting with flesh. I spin around and see that Camilla has thrown the sword she carries, hitting a girl in the chest. A cannon fires. Lily's eyes are wide, and Ajax looks impressed. I just feel sick.

Eventually, Ajax allows us to return to camp. It's a long walk, but it's still early in the day, so we make it before the sun starts its descent towards the line of trees that are the horizon.


	5. Attack

**AN: I'm finally done exams and on vacation, so that means I'll be posting more! Once I get six reviews, I'll post another chapter. Thank you to everyone who reads this, I love reading your reviews. Enjoy! **

**Lily**

Darkness settles in quickly, and the talk turns to setting up camp. I offer to take first watch, but Ajax declines. Marvel says he'll guard with me, and though Ajax is still skeptical, he agrees. It turns out that there are only three tents included in the supplies, so Marvel and I decide to share one. He's the only person I trust not to stab me in my sleep. We sit outside the ring of tents for our shift. Though there's no food included in the bounty of the Cornucopia, there are lots of survival tools, like matches, flint, tents, rope, and even some binoculars. The tents were only inside the Cornucopia, so no one other than our group has one, as far as I know. The anthem plays, and I look up from the clip I was fiddling with. The deaths start at District 3. The boy from Thalia's district is dead. He didn't want to be in our alliance. I see the boy from Five. The one I met inside the Cornucopia. I look away, feeling sick. Most of the tributes left are smaller than me, but that doesn't mean they're weaker. My heart sinks when Hugo's face doesn't appear. Something about him, more than just his high training score, scares me.

Within half an hour of the sun sinking, the temperature is below zero. I know there are warm sleeping bags waiting in our tent, but that doesn't help us at the moment. The jacket and pants are warm, but my hands are freezing. I stand up to search for a pair of gloves, but can't find any.

I sit back down beside Marvel, rubbing my hands together.

"Here," Marvel says, turning to me. "Give me your hands."

I stretch out my hands and he takes them both in his, trying to warm them up. I try to ignore the fact that my stomach does a flip when he touches me. I look at him, then look away, embarrassed, as he looks back at me.

"Is that better?" he asks.

I nod. "Thanks."

"No problem," he says.

I rest my chin on my knees, looking up at the moon. It's covered by a thick layer or fog, providing almost no light. No matter how much I try to push it from my mind, I can't help but think of home. I wonder if Aella and Nicholas are watching right now. Probably not, since it's the middle of the night. I'm sure they've been watching, though. I wonder what they think of what I did during the bloodbath. I know what I think of it. Their sister has become a murderer. When I'm dead, I hope they remember me as I was before the Games, not during.

When the moon is a quarter of the way across the sky, Marvel wakes Thalia. I crawl into my sleeping bag, my head at Marvel's feet. I fall asleep slowly, even though I know that Ajax and Camilla wouldn't try anything with Marvel right beside me. I can't stop thinking of what I did. What am I going to have to do to go home to Aella and Nicholas?

**Marvel**

When I wake, I think it's before dawn. Lily is still sleeping, her head by my feet. I lie on my back, looking at the roof of the tent. I don't want to wake her up. She needs as much sleep as she can get.

After a few minutes she rolls over, opening her eyes blearily. I smile at her and she smiles back, sitting up.

I crawl out of the tent and see that the sun is already well above the horizon. The fog makes it a lot darker than it normally would be. Lily follows me out, and Ajax instructs her to go find some food. She stands up, and I make to follow her.

"You're staying here," Ajax says to me.

"You guys are fine, I'm going with her," I say. I'm not letting her go alone, and Ajax can't stop me. I turn my back on him and walk away, following Lily.

"You can stay," Lily whispers to me as I catch up to her.

"I don't want to," I say, and it's true.

We head into the forest, once again easily managing to find some edible plants. On the way back to camp, I notice that the plant we took leaves off of yesterday has died. That's weird. I'm going to point it out to Lily, but she's already a ways ahead of me.

We eat, and Ajax suggests we go hunting.

"Who's going to stay and guard?" Camilla asks.

"I will," Thalia says.

Ajax, who has clearly labelled himself leader of our group, agrees. I don't want to go hunting. I don't want anyone else to die. I push the thoughts to the back of my mind, feeling guilt in the pit of my stomach.

Camilla leads the way into the forest, and I follow. I brought a few knives in my belt, as well as a spear that I grabbed from the Cornucopia. Lily walks in front of me, clutching an axe.

We walk for a long time, stopping to eat some leaves and berries along the way. Ajax is getting frustrated with the lack of kills.

"I could climb a tree," Lily says.

"How do you plan to do that?" Ajax asks, narrowing his eyes at her.

She glares at him and pulls out a length of rope from her backpack. She walks past a few trees, looking up to the tops high above us. She stops at the base of one, using one of the clips from the Cornucopia to secure the rope to her belt. She throws the rope, and after a few shots manages to loop it around one of the lower branches. Using the axe, she's perched on the lowest branch in less than a minute. She looks down. I smile at her, shielding my eyes against the sun and waving. She grins and waves back, then scans the horizon. Ajax rolls his eyes, though I'm not sure why. She rapels back down with no difficulty.

"I saw something to the left," she says, squinting in the sun and looking at Ajax.

"Alright," Ajax says. "We'll go that way, then."

I can't believe he's letting someone else lead our group. Lily walks in the direction she pointed to. I follow. Ajax walks behind me, followed by Camilla.

Lily walks for a few minutes. I try to be careful not to step on anything other than pine needles, which do a good job of muffling my steps.

I hear a footstep and freeze in my tracks. I stop so suddenly that Ajax slams into me. I turn around as he opens his mouth, probably to insult me for being so unaware. I bring my finger to my lips, signalling him not to say anything. Luckily he listens, bringing the axe he carries into a throwing position.

A few feet ahead of me, Lily has stopped. She's looking back at us. I signal her to be quiet and she nods. I hear another footstep, somewhere ahead of her. She turns towards it, but I put my hand on her shoulder, stepping in front of her. I don't want her fighting anyone, if I can help it. It'd be easier to die than see her die, knowing she has a family waiting back home for her. There's no one waiting back home for me.

We walk for a few seconds before I hear the sound of something connecting with flesh. I spin around and see that Camilla has thrown the sword she carries, hitting a girl in the chest. A cannon fires. Lily's eyes are wide, and Ajax looks impressed. I just feel sick.

Eventually, Ajax allows us to return to camp. It's a long walk, but it's still early in the day, so we make it before the sun starts its descent towards the line of trees that are the horizon.

**Lily**

I trudge across the flat surface of the rocks, following Marvel and Ajax towards the Cornucopia and camp. Thalia is sitting on the ground. She looks up when she hears us walking towards her. "How did it go?"

Camilla sits on the ground and I follow suit, pulling some leaves that I collected out of my backpack. "Fine," Ajax says. I think he's mad that Camilla got the only kill. I squeeze my eyes shut at the thought of the dead girl, with the sword sticking out of her chest. I can picture the look in Camilla's eyes. _Triumph._ Was she proud that she killed someone?

I try to steady my breathing, then hand out some of the leaves. Ajax rolls his eyes, probably at the prospect of another meal of leaves. I ignore him. If he doesn't like it, he can get his own food.

"Thanks, Lily," Marvel says as I hand him some leaves.

I smile at him. "No problem," I say. Maybe the arena hasn't made a total monster out of everyone. I can feel Ajax's eyes burning into me, though I'm not sure why he's even looking at me.

After a few minutes, Ajax stands up. "Let's go hunting again," he says. I stare at him. We just hunted for what I would guess to be no less than four hours.

Everyone else is just looking at him. He runs his hands through his hair. "I said, let's go hunting."

I look at the ground. I'm not going to be the one to tell him he's crazy. I don't really fancy getting killed in my sleep. Thalia stands up, and I think she's going to say something to him. Instead, she just grabs a sword and sticks another dagger in her belt, then walks to stand beside him. Ajax puts his hands on his hips, looking annoyed. I exchange a glance with Marvel. He looks back at me, and I try not to laugh. Why is Ajax acting like this?

Marvel laughs, then covers his mouth with his hand. Ajax stalks over to us, looking between us. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Marvel says. "We're just having fun, sir."

Ajax turns beet red. "Get up," he says. "We're hunting, and one of you is coming."

Marvel gets to his feet. He looks exhausted. "I'll go, Marvel," I say. "You can stay here."

"It's fine," he says. "You can guard. We'll be back soon, anyway."

Ajax walks over to Camilla, who's still sitting on the ground. I can't hear what they're saying, but Ajax is nodding at something.

"Are you sure you're alright?" I say quietly to Marvel.

"I'm sure," he says. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

Ajax calls to Marvel from where he stands, near Camilla, so all I can do is nod as he walks away.

Camilla doesn't follow Thalia, Ajax and Marvel into the forest, so I assume that she's staying to guard with me.

I watch Marvel follow Ajax into the forest. He doesn't look back. I can feel fear in the pit of my stomach.

I measure how long they're gone by the progression of the sun. It must be several hours. I try to entertain myself by throwing rocks over the edge of the cliff. Not exactly entertaining. I wish Marvel were here, then I could stop worrying and have someone to talk to. I try not to think about him. I can't be worrying about him. Only one of us is getting out of here. Camilla is throwing knives and sticking them into the side of a box. She stops and turns to me, after several hours of silence.

"You're not much without Marvel, are you?" She smirks.

I glare at her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You would've been dead six times over, without him."

"You'd be dead without Marvel, too. Who'd get your food for you? Maybe next time, I'll tell him to pick something poisonous."

She stands up, twirling a knife in her hand. I realize too late that I'm in a horrible position, leaning propped up against a box on the ground. She walks over to me, still holding the knife.

"Ajax knows you're weak. He's waiting for the right moment to kill you off. Hopefully we can kill you right before Marvel. I'd love to see the look on his face as he watches you die."

My axe is out of reach. She's standing right in front of me.

"He looked pretty traumatized when I killed that girl in the forest. I bet it'd be even better if it was you."

I stand up as quickly as I can, grabbing the axe off the ground. I don't feel any fear, even though I know she'd kill me without a second of hesitation, allies or not.

I turn to her. "What's wrong with you? Do you actually find joy in other people's deaths?"

She's holding her knife in a throwing position, but it's still by her side. She raises her voice. "You shouldn't even be standing here. You're weak. If you'd died like you would've without Marvel, we wouldn't have to put up with you. You're weak. You haven't even killed anyone."

I decide not to inform her that she's wrong, though she's right about me being weak. What am I if I'm not weak? I've stood by as children were killed. I grip the axe and am raising it when Marvel steps between us. I didn't even hear him coming.

"What the hell is going on?" he demands, keeping his back to me. Camilla's knife is poised to throw, and he obviously doesn't want to turn his back on her.

Camilla smirks. "Your dear girlfriend and I were discussing how she'd be dead without you, being the weakling she is." She lowers the knife to her side as Ajax jogs up to her.

My hands are shaking. For the first time, I feel like I could kill her without feeling anything afterwards.

I can feel the tension in the air as we eat dinner. It won't be long before Ajax and Camilla turn on us. I'm sure that Thalia wouldn't kill either of us in our sleep, and I'm sure she knows as well as I do the dangers of the Career alliance.

As darkness settles over the arena, it's established that Marvel and I are on the first shift of guard duty again. It's colder tonight. I can see Marvel's breath in the air. I hug my knees to my chest, trying to keep warm.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Marvel asks me.

"No, I'm fine," I say. I can't leave him out here alone. He must be just as cold as I am.

I look at my fingers. I can see that they're turning purple. Marvel looks at me, then gently takes my hand, looking at my fingers. He looks back up at me, then stands up. "Let me get some matches. They know we're here anyway, what's the point in freezing to death?"

I watch him rummaging through one of the boxes stacked around the Cornucopia. He returns after a second, matches in hand. We burn one of the boxes from one of the tents. It's easy to get it going, since the ground around us is stone, and we're in no danger of starting a forest fire.

It's not long before we have a small fire. I edge closer to it, extending my hands over the flames. Warmth spreads through them, a different warmth than when Marvel held them in his hands before. It's warmth, but this time there's no comfort in it.

It feels like years since I was in the Capitol. A lifetime since I was in District 1. A lifetime since I've seen my family. I try to push the thought from my mind. It hurts too much to think about it.

When the moon is a quarter of the way across the sky, Marvel stands up. "We should get Thalia and get some sleep." I nod.

He gets her and she crawls out. He pauses at the entrance to our tent. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be there in one second," I say. He nods and disappears into the tent.

I turn to Thalia, lowering my voice and hoping the cameras can't hear. "Can you try your best to make sure Marvel doesn't argue with Ajax?" I lower my eyes and drop my voice even lower. "I don't know how long I'm going to last, and I don't want anyone targeting him after I'm gone. Ajax might drag it out, if he decides to go after him."

Thalia nods. "Of course," she says. She pauses for a second, dropping my gaze and looking at her feet. "Can you do me a favor?" she asks. When I nod, she continues. "I know I'm not going to make it out of here, but could you tell my family that I'm really sorry? I'm sure that either you or Marvel will make it out, and I'm truly sorry that it can't be both of you. I really believe that one of you can win. I really do. Just tell my cousin and my sister that I love them, and I'm sorry for not always being able to feed them, but I did what I could."

Her story brings tears to my eyes. "I promise I'll do my best," I say.

She thanks me and sits by the fire. I crawl into our tent and find Marvel sitting on the sleeping bag. "What was that about?" he asks. I explain to him, then lie down. I barely contain the tears. This isn't fair. How can they take innocent children and put them through this? Thalia, who's so brave, volunteering for her cousin, trying to feed her family, and now will most likely never see them again? How can they do this to her?

I fall asleep, but it's light, and I wake a lot.

It's still the middle of the night when I hear the scream. It's a girl's scream, followed by another. Marvel scrambles out of his sleeping bag, grabbing an axe and crawling out of the tent. I'm scared of what I'll see, but I follow him.

I can see Ajax crawling out of his tent, his eyes wide. Thalia is crawling out of her tent. The scene outside knocks the air from my lungs. Camilla lies on the ground, a halo of blood around her head. An unmoving body lies a few feet away, head pointed towards the forest. A cannon sounds, but Camilla is still moving, trying to tell something to Ajax, who drops to his knees beside her. The cannon must've been for the other person. Ajax isn't touching Camilla, he's just looking at her blankly. I don't know what to do, so I kneel on her other side, across from Ajax. He looks at me, but I don't look back, instead looking at Camilla. I can't see the wound, but from the light rapidly dimming from her eyes, I can tell it must be bad. She's trying to say something, but I can't understand her. I manage to catch a few words, but they make no sense. _Ajax. Sister. Dad. Sorry. _Her speech is slurred, her eyes glazing over. Something in her eyes vanishes, and a cannon fires. Ajax makes a weird sound, somewhere between a cough and a gasp, then stands up. He crawls back into his now empty tent and zips up the flap.

Marvel kneels beside me. I stare at Camilla's unmoving body. Her arm is bent awkwardly beneath her. I move it, then lay her hand on her stomach. At this moment, I don't see an enemy, just another dead child, killed for the sick amusement of the Capitol. Dead for nothing. I want to crawl back into the tent, but I resist. I can't look weak, though I'm sure I already look it plenty.

**Marvel**

Lily, who is standing across from me, is staring blankly at the ground, wearing the same expression she wore after the Reaping, on the train. Thalia is standing beside me, looking at Camilla. I feel sick. The blood that surrounds her head makes the rocks look black. Her dark hair mixes with it. I clear my throat. "Should we move? So the hovercraft can get her?"

Thalia doesn't look at me, she just nods. Lily follows Thalia and I towards the circle of tents, then stands beside me as the hovercraft dips its claw down and gently lifts Camilla. Does she have a family? A sister or brother who wanted her to come home? What about her parents? Her friends? I push the thoughts from my mind.

The silence between Thalia and Lily and I stretches, all of us lost in our own thoughts. After a while, Lily looks between Thalia and I, her expression unreadable.

"Why don't you two get some sleep?" she asks. "You both look tired. I can guard."

"I'm alright," I say. "You two can sleep."

Thalia clears her throat, looking nervous. "Can I ask you guys something?"

I exchange a glance with Lily. "Of course," Lily says.

"I was, um, wondering," she's stumbling over her words, though I'm not sure why. "If you were, erm, planning on leaving Ajax?"

I look at Lily again. We hadn't talked about it, but I'd certainly thought about it. "I'm not sure," I say. "I'm sure we will at some point."

Lily nods her consent. "Probably soon," she adds, looking at me.

Thalia nods. "I was thinking of leaving tonight," she says. "Then I realized that Ajax might take it out on one of you, so I didn't."

I look down at my feet. "Thank you for thinking of us," Lily says. "If you want to go now, we can tell Ajax that you just ran and we didn't want to stop you."

Thalia looks up, relief in her eyes. "You'd do that?"

"Of course," Lily says. I feel bad for being so quiet, but I don't really know what to say.

"Alright," Thalia says. "I guess I'll go now then, before Ajax comes back out."

I had almost forgotten his temper. He wouldn't like it if he came out here and found the three of us talking.

I help Lily and Thalia pack some supplies into a backpack. Lily and I move to take her tent down, but she stops us. "I don't need it," she says. "It has to look like I left in a rush. I can't guard myself from inside a tent, anyway."

I nod. Thalia shoulders her backpack, looking between us. "Thank you so much," she says. "For letting me do this. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem," I say. I lower my voice. "We're probably leaving soon anyway."

She nods. "I guess I won't say that I'll see you soon."

I laugh nervously, and a ghost of a smile plays on Lily's lips. "Probably not a good idea," I say.

She looks at us once more, then turns and walks away. I watch until the shadows of the forest swallow her. I turn to Lily. "Should we get the fire going?"

She nods. I grab some matches, then sit beside her on the ground. We try to rekindle the dying fire. Lily moves towards it, warming her hands over the flames. I look up into the dark sky, watching the sparks float upwards then extinguish themselves.

There's been a fair amount of action lately, so hopefully the Gamemakers won't spring something on us. If they decide to, there's no way to prepare for it.

At one point, I look over at Lily. She lies with her head on the ground, fast asleep. Some of her hair has fallen into her eyes. I brush it away with my hand. I consider waking her. She looks peaceful. Who knows how much longer that will last? I stand up, lifting her in my arms so that her chin rests on my shoulder. She wraps her arms around my neck, but she's still asleep. I push open the flap to the tent and lay her down on top of my sleeping bag, then head back outside to the fire.

She's hardly said five words to me since what happened to Camilla. She was an enemy, sure, but she was still just a kid. I think Lily's still in shock. It's a lot to see. We're only seventeen, after all. I kick some leaves onto the fire, watching as they shrivel up and burn.

It's not fair, but there's no use in complaining. I've known from the second I volunteered at the Reaping that I wouldn't be going home. I don't have anything to go home to. I had a shot at winning, I'm sure. I've trained hard since I was nine. Since my father died. How could I even think about going home when I look at Lily? Lily, who has a family at home. Lily, with no parents and two siblings who are the most important thing in the world to her? Lily, with her big blue eyes and sweet disposition.

Ajax's voice startles me out of my thoughts. "Marvel!"

"What?" I say, startled.

"It's my turn to guard," he says slowly. He talks to me as if I'm a rather thick-skulled dog that can't learn to stay.

"Alright," I say, heading back to the tent. Lily is curled up in a ball, lying on top of my sleeping bag. I carefully step over her, lying down on her sleeping bag, my head level with hers.


	6. River

**Lily**

When I wake up, I'm back in the tent. It's light out, or at least as light as it can be through the fog. Marvel lies beside me.

I crawl to the door of the tent and see that Ajax took the last guard shift. He's sawing a twig with his knife.

I bring my head back inside, lying back down beside Marvel and staring at the roof of the tent, which is billowing in the wind. After a few minutes, Marvel rolls over, looking at me.

"Did I fall asleep last night?" I ask.

"Yeah," he says. "Don't worry about it. I knew you were tired, so I just brought you back in here."

"I'm sorry."

"No problem," he says, sitting up. The roof of the tent is making loud snapping sounds in the wind. "I don't think we should say anything about Thalia," he says after a moment. "We'll just pretend to be surprised when we find out she's gone."

"That sounds good," I say. I don't want to think about what his reaction would be if he knew we'd all been talking without him.

I crawl out of the tent after Marvel. Thalia's empty tent is billowing in the wind.

"What's going on today?" Marvel asks Ajax.

"You and I are going to hunt," he tells Marvel, who nods. I don't like the idea of him going off alone with Ajax, but he's obviously thinking of something if he agrees to go with him. Ajax looks at me. "You can stay and guard with Thalia," he says.

"Just let me grab the spear," Marvel says. He returns, and they leave. Marvel doesn't say another word to me. I watch as they disappear into the forest. I can't believe he did that. He doesn't need to stay with me, but I don't trust Ajax.

I try to distract myself from my worries by using the axe to chop up a stick into small pieces, throwing them over the edge of the cliff. What am I going to do? I hope Marvel has some sort of plan. If Ajax comes back and finds out that Thalia is gone, he's going to think that I helped her leave. Who knows what he'll do? I'm throwing the last of my pieces when I hear footsteps.

I spin around and have the axe poised to throw when I see Marvel sprinting towards me. I jump up.

"What's wrong? Is someone chasing you?" I scan the forest, but can't see anyone.

He's gasping for breath. "I left Ajax. I said I was going to-to check something out, and then ran back here. It's time to leave him. G-grab some supplies. We need to go as soon as we c-can."

Relief floods through me. I'm glad that we can leave him - and have our pick of supplies. Is start grabbing knives, matches, rope, and the tent that Thalia used. I packed it back into the bag while Marvel was gone.

I spot a bag of clips that could be used for climbing and stuff them in my backpack. I finish and look at Marvel. He has a full pack, and is packing things up in boxes.

"What are you doing?" I ask him. "Let's get out of here!"

He continues packing. "We can't leave Ajax with all these supplies, now, can we?"

I don't understand. "We can't burn them, it's too dangerous with this wind."

He stops dragging a box and looks at me. We look at each other for a second, then he grabs the box. He drags it to the edge of the cliff, pausing a good six feet from the edge, and shoves it over. I run to the edge and watch it fall. It explodes on the rocks below. It's clear now, and I start grabbing boxes and dragging them to the edge, then letting them fall.

We work quickly, and finish by dropping the tents over. It's been a while, and I'm sure that Ajax and Camilla will be back soon. Marvel drags the last box to the edge, and I begin hammering a metal spike I found into the ground. I figure that it's safer if we rappel down the cliff, and go into the forest down there. I can see a stream at the bottom. We'll have water, and I doubt that Ajax will want to come down after us. There's a ledge a couple of feet down, and there are good handholds most of the way. By using these, we can take out the peg at the top, and they'll have no idea where we went.

"Should we rappel down?" I ask Marvel. "Ajax is less likely to find us down there."

He looks up from the box he was pushing towards the edge. "Down the cliff?"

I nod. I'm not sure if I imagine it or not, but I'm almost certain his face pales. "Yeah," he says after a second. "That's a good idea."

I work quickly, letting Marvel hammer the spikes in, while I begin on the knots I learned in training. I need to start over once, but manage to finish them. Marvel finishes hammering the spike into the ground.

I tie my rope around the end of the clip, then secure it to my belt. Marvel is trying to attach his to the clip, but I take it from his hands, which seem to be shaking. I tie it for him, then attach it to the clip, which he clips onto his belt. I look at him. "Are you alright?" I say quietly, hoping the cameras won't catch it.

He takes a deep breath. "I'm fine," he says. "Let's do this."

I turn my back on the cliff. Marvel is still standing where he was after I did the knot for him. He must be scared of heights. I feel terrible for not noticing before. I walk over to him. "We can just go into the forest up here," I say, and I mean it. I'd feel horrible making him do this.

He shakes his head. "It's safer down there," he says.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah," he says. He looks at me, then looks away, turning his back on the cliff. I nod at him, and he rappels a few feet, careful to look at me and not at the ground a hundred and fifty feet below.

I follow him, kicking off with my feet and dropping a few feet. It's a slow process, because we have to stop every few seconds to reattach the rope to the spikes, which we have to hammer into the cliff face.

Once we're about thirty feet down, I figure we can stop changing spikes, because it'll be almost impossible to see the pegs. The rest of the way down takes us about half an hour.

I breath a sigh of relief at the bottom. We made it. I yank on my rope, and it comes falling down. I stuff it in my pack. It's long and heavy, so it takes up a lot of space. Marvel does the same with his rope.

I'd like to get to the forest as soon as we can, before it's dark. I can tell right away that that's going to be a problem. The stream, which looked small from above, with nothing to compare it with, stretches at least eighty feet across. It won't be easy to cross.

I walk over and stick my hand in. It's cold. The temperature alone could probably kill us, and the current is strong. Really strong. I look at Marvel. He's looking at me.

"What should we do?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. There's not really an option except crossing."

I size up the situation. I only have one change of clothes, and they're on my back. I grab a stick to test the depth. It's no higher than my head, but it's still deep. I'll have to be completely soaked to cross it. Marvel, who's a bit taller than me, can probably cross it without getting his head wet, if he can keep his feet on the bottom. I don't think that will happen, considering the current.

Marvel stands up from where he was submerging his backpack in the water."It's waterproof," he tells me.

"That makes things easier, then," I say. "Should we take off our jackets? Maybe our pants? We can leave the leggings on, they'll dry faster than the pants, and then we won't be as cold."

The outfit that we wear has skin tight leggings underneath, probably for extra warmth. The gamemakers always try to keep the tributes warm, ever since the year when more than half of them froze to death.

"That's a good idea," Marvel says. He pulls off his jacket. He has a t-shirt on, which should dry quickly afterwards. I have the same t-shirt.

Pulling the jacket off exposes me to the cold like never before. The temperature keeps getting increasingly colder. The gamemakers can control it, so they must be up to something. Maybe that's why the plants are dying.

I shiver as I pull off the brown pants. The leggings are warm, but I'm still freezing.

I stuff my clothes, socks, and shoes into my backpack, and Marvel throws them over to other side of the bank.

"What's the best way to do this?" he asks.

I can swim, but not very well. I don't know any strokes, just how to keep my head above the water. I've only ever been in pools, nothing like this, not with a current this strong. I know that Marvel is a strong swimmer, they practice that at the training centre back home. He takes my hand, steadying me, and I dip my foot in the water. Compared to the air, it feels warm, but I know that it's not. Still clutching Marvel's hand, I ease myself in.

The cold knocks the air out of my lungs. It's all I can feel. My feet skim the bottom, but there's no way to keep them there. The current under the surface is very strong. What's the word for that? _Undertow._ I can feel it pushing me downstream, and I release Marvel's hand and swim as hard as I can towards the other bank. Every time I lift my arm out of the water for another stroke, I'm pushed at least five feet. The fact that I can hardly swim doesn't help at all. I'm staying afloat using an awkward paddle, inching my way towards the bank. It's not far, but it feels like miles. At one point my head dips under the surface, and I can't see or breathe. I panic, unsure of which way is up. I'm thrashing about, but Marvel grabs my arm, pulling me above the surface. I was only a foot away from the bank when I went under, and luckily he had already climbed out. I sputter and cough, and he hauls me out of the river.

"Are you okay?" he's out of breath.

I nod, coughing up water. I can't stop shaking. The cold is too much to bear. Marvel's lips are blue, and I'm sure that mine are too. They might even be worse, because I can see by his dry hair that he didn't slip below the surface like I did. All I want is to climb into one of our insulated sleeping bags. I look around for our packs. They're fifty feet upstream. I make to stand up, but Marvel puts a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll get them," he says, jogging upstream. I don't have the strength to argue. He returns, and it takes all of our strength to make it into the forest. We walk a few hundred feet, then set up the tent as fast as our frozen fingers will allow.


	7. Nightmare

**Marvel**

We don't put on our jackets and pants because they would just become damp, and we'd be colder come morning. It's hard to imagine being colder than this. Lily's hands are visibly shaking as she loops a rope around one of the pegs that supports the tent, stepping on it and pushing it into the ground.

I unzip my backpack, pulling out my sleeping bag and rolling it across the floor of the tent. I unzip Lily's pack and am reaching for her sleeping bag when she stops me. "Let's share. It's too cold."

I nod. She crawls into the sleeping bag. I zip up the door of the tent and crawl in after her. I'm warmer instantly. The sleeping bag has plenty of room for both of us. She rolls over, looking at me. Despite the darkness, I can see how blue her lips are. "I'm sorry for making you rapel down the cliff."

"You didn't make me," I say. "We're safer down here, anyway." It's true that I was scared - I've never liked heights. It wasn't so bad, once I realized I could manage without looking down. She was right about the fact that Ajax is less likely to find us down here.

We lie in silence for a while. I listen to the sounds of the forest. It's completely silent, except for the faint rush of the river, far in the distance. I wonder if there are even any other tributes down here.

"Marvel?" Lily says, breaking the silence.

I roll over so that I'm on my side instead of my back, facing her. "Yeah?"

"Thank you. For pulling me out of the river."

"You're welcome," I say. I don't tell her how scared I was when I couldn't see her. I'd thought she was going to drown. She drops her gaze. Soon her breathing steadies, her head resting on her arm. She's still facing me. I feel her cheek with the back of my hand. It's still cold, but she's not shaking. Vaguely, I realize that I should guard. I close my eyes for a second, fully intending to crawl out of the warm sleeping bag and make sure we don't get ourselves killed during the night.

A cannon booms. I jerk awake, sitting up. It sounded close. It woke Lily too. I kick off the sleeping bag. I can't believe I fell asleep. We could've been killed during the night. It would've been all my fault. We're quiet. I can't hear anything, but there's no way I'm going back to sleep. Dawn is just breaking.

We wait in silence for a few minutes, listening for footsteps. I grab my spear, which was resting next to my hand on the floor of the tent. Someone could've easily seen our tent, and be waiting outside for someone to emerge. The thought of the thin material of the tent sends a shiver up my spine. I tally up the tributes left. There must be eleven. There are still plenty of us left. I wonder if the elements will start to kill people off. Not everyone has a sleeping bag and tent. I raise my eyebrows at Lily, and she nods her head. She thinks it's alright if we go outside. I stick my head out the door of the tent, and when no weapons come flying at me, I step all the way out. Lily emerges after me. I offer her my hand, pulling her to her feet.

Our backpacks are inside the tent and I pull them out, sitting on the ground to check our supplies.

I open my pack first. I grabbed knives, rope, a sheet of plastic, a pot, two water bottles, which are full, a pair of small binoculars, and some iodine.

Lily opens her pack. Despite our rushed departure, she's grabbed a lot of useful things. She has more rope, a knife with a serated blade, the clips we used for rappelling, and some matches. Considering the small amount of supplies that the Cornucopia had to offer, we got quite a variety.

"It's a good thing we had this," Lily says, reaching into the tent for the sleeping bag.

"Yeah," I say, unzipping my pack. "Without it-"

I freeze midsentence as a branch snaps loudly. I know right away that it's not a branch breaking off a tree. It's someone stepping on one - and they're close.

Lily freezes, her hand on the handle of her backpack. She pulls it onto her back, trying not to make any noise.

A branch snaps again, and I can tell which direction it's coming from. I turn quickly in the opposite direction, gesturing Lily ahead of me.

We've made it fifty feet when I hear another branch. I know it wasn't Lily, it wasn't that close. She's frozen midstep, listening. I'm straining my ears, listening for another sound, when I see movement ahead of Lily.

I shout a warning, but it dies in my throat as a boy, brandishing a sword, lunges at her. I push her out of the way, squeezing my eyes shut and preparing for the pain of the sword. It never comes. I open my eyes. The boy, I have no idea which District he's from, is swinging his sword, but it's a good foot away from my body. The boy has a huge gash on his stomach, and blood stains his pants and jacket. It looks like claw marks, and I wonder what animal he ran into.

Lily runs over to help, and the boy swings his axe madly, opening a gash on her arm, just under her shoulder. There's something wrong with him, I can tell from the unorganized way he's swinging the weapon, to his glassy eyes, which can't seem to focus on anything. White foam gathers at the edges of his mouth. He slashes the weapon wildly and I jump back, narrowly missing a cut to the throat. He swings at Lily, hitting her in the stomach. For a moment I feel full panic. She doubles over. When I realize that no blood is staining her clothes, I turn back to him. It must've been the flat part of the blade. He's half turned away from us, slashing away at the air. I pull a knife from my belt, throwing it and burying it in the back of his neck. The boy drops to the ground, and I try to regain my breath. Lily turns away and squeezes her eyes shut, her hands on her knees. A cannon fires. We walk a little ways away so that the hovercraft can collect the body. I feel sick. I didn't even think before I killed him. I killed a child. I'll add it to the list. "There was something wrong with him," Lily says, her face pale.

"Yeah, I noticed that. I wonder what it was."

"I have no idea," she says. "Let's go find the tent." We left it when we heard the branch cracking, along with our other sleeping bag.

"Sounds like a plan," I say, and turn away. I walk away, stopping when I realize that Lily is going in the opposite direction.

We both pause and turn back around. "Is it that way?" Lily asks me.

"I think so... but I'm not positive. Maybe it's your way."

She shakes her head. "I'm not sure either. Let's just go your way."

"Are you sure? We can go your way."

"It's fine," she says, but she looks worried. We have the sleeping bag, but without the tent, we'd be completely exposed to the wind, which is getting colder and stronger each night.

I lead the way, in the direction I believe the tent to be. After walking for a long time, I stop.

"It's not here," I tell Lily. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. Should we go back, and try to go another direction?" I can see her breath in the air. A faint breeze blows her curly hair around her face.

I nod. It's almost too dark to walk. I follow her this time, and we find our way back to the clearing where we started. It's dark now, and I can hardly see my feet, except by the light of the moon, which is trying to spread its light through the thick fog. We head in the direction that Lily had said, but after walking for at least ten minutes, there's no sign of the tent.

"I guess we were both wrong," she says. She looks discouraged.

"We'll be fine," I say, but I know it's a lie. Even if we don't freeze to death, one of us has to die. "Let's look for a good spot for camp."

**Lily**

As we walk through the forest, Marvel a few steps ahead of me, it seems as if there's no good spot with shelter and protection, but Marvel keeps walking. I have no idea where he's going, but I follow him.

He stops up ahead and I jog up to him. He's found a bush with a sort of hollow underneath. It should work, at least for one night. He spreads the sleeping bag out and I climb in.

"I'll take first watch," he says, rubbing his hands together.

I forgot about that problem. "Let me," I say. I crawl out, sitting beside him at the entrance to the hollow.

"You're freezing, I'll be fine," he says. I can see his breath in the air.

"You need to sleep too," I say. "I'll be fine."

Finally he nods and crawls into the sleeping bag. "Take my jacket," he says, pulling it off. "Wake me halfway through the night, or if you're tired, earlier."

I nod and sit at the entrance to the hollow, my axe on my lap. I pull Marvel's jacket over top of my own. I'll have to depend on my ears, since I can hardly see anything.

About halfway through my shift, my hands are so cold that I can't move my fingers. I stick them in the sleeping bag beside Marvel and hope that no one comes along now. I'd be useless at throwing the axe if they did. Once my hands are warm, I try to keep them moving, but they're freezing in a matter of minutes. My teeth are chattering, but I don't want to wake Marvel early. I look at him. I can see his breath in the air, but he's not shivering, so I guess the bag is warm enough. His jacket is big enough to fit over mine, but the cold still cuts right to my bones. Are the gamemakers trying to kill me off? I doubt it. I can't be the only tribute awake without a sleeping bag. Plus, I think they'd rather see a fight with both Marvel and I involved.

When the moon is a little past halfway over my head, I shake Marvel's shoulder. He's awake almost instantly, practically shoving me into the sleeping bag.

I pull off his jacket and hand it to him. He puts it on and pulls a pine needle out of my hair. I smile at him, then crawl into the sleeping bag. It's warm, and I'm asleep quickly.

_I look into the mouth of the Cornucopia. I can hear screaming behind me, and the sound of a sword connecting with flesh. There's a group of knives on a box to my left. I grab them and spin around, my heart racing. Then I see him. He's on the floor, trying to crawl behind some boxes. He's small. I wouldn't think he was any older than ten, but that wouldn't be possible. I recognize him from the Traning Centre. His hair is blond. He sees me looking at him, and his eyes go to the knives in my left hand. His blue eyes widen. We look at each other for a fear pumped second. I hear someone clamber into the golden horn. It's Ajax. "What are you doing?" he yells, "get out here and help!" I nod, and am about to spin around. I can feel Ajax watching me, waiting to see if I can fit into his alliance. The boy is still behind me. I turn to him, raising one of the knives. I can see the fear in his eyes, hear his scream as I stab him. Ajax nods at me and runs out into the meelee. The boy is taking his last breath. _

_ "I'm sorry," I whisper, and I mean it. _

_ He looks at me. Something's not right. "Wake up, you're fine, you're safe, I'm going to keep you safe."_

"You're fine, it's fine!"

Marvel is shaking my shoulders. I can see panic in his eyes. I'm twisted and trapped in the sleeping bag, soaked in sweat. I look at him, trying to calm down. My eyes fill with tears at the thought of the dream, and he pulls my head to his chest. I'm glad he's thinking. I don't want the cameras seeing my tears.

"I'm sorry," I say, my voice muffled by his shirt. I press my face into his chest. My shoulders shake as I let out a sob. I bite my lip so hard I taste blood. I can't look any weaker than I already do.

"It's fine, but you started screaming, and I couldn't wake you. Sorry about waking you like that, I didn't know what else to do."

It takes all my effort to pull away from him. We're going to have to split up soon, and I can't face the thought of him dying. This could be one of our last days together. "There's nothing else you could've done. I don't really want to be screaming in here." I can feel my face burning. I must look so weak.

It's past dawn, though still fairly dark out. Everything is shadowy and gray.

I unroll from the sleeping bag. "Do you want to try to sleep again?" I ask Marvel. I know I won't be sleeping again.

"No, I'm good," he says.

We roll up the sleeping bag and try to clear out quickly, in case anyone heard us. We walk with no destination in mind. I count the tributes left. There must be ten.

According to Marvel, there were no cannons last night, so the audience must be getting bored. I think of Thalia. I don't want her to die, but I also don't want to be the one to kill her. She must still be alive.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

He shrugs. "I thought maybe towards the mountains, there might be better shelter there. I haven't seen any food around here, but there was some back there. We need water too."

At the thought of food, my stomach rumbles. I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

"I could climb a tree, so we know which way we're going," I tell him.

"Good idea," he answers. I fish in my backpack for the rope. I attach it to my belt and use the axe to climb up the tree. I balance on a branch, looking down at Marvel. He smiles and waves. I wave back, grinning. I scan the area. Trees as far as the eye can see to my left, and to my right, I can see the cliff we rapelled down. I can see the tail of the Cornucopia, but I can't tell if Camilla and Ajax are still camping there. It doesn't look far, maybe two miles or so. I rapel down and report my findings to Marvel.

"Should we head back there then? There must be another way up to the Cornucopia than down the cliff, if there are other tributes down here."

"Sounds like a plan," I say, nodding at him. He sets off in the direction that I pointed, and I follow.


	8. Mutts

**Marvel**

I head head in the direction of the cliff, Lily following behind me. We haven't gone too far when we hear a scream. It's close, and I jump, freezing in my tracks. It's high pitched, and it sounds like a little kid. I wince. It seems like a horribly long time before a cannon finally fires. In the silence that follows, I can hear the sounds of feet. It sounds like several people, and they don't seem to be trying to keep quiet. I'm wondering if everyone left has allied together to take out Lily and I, which obviously isn't a logical explanation, when she grabs my arm and steers me towards the river. The feet are close now, and they seem to be gaining. It doesn't make any sense. We had just crossed an area full of fallen logs and slippery leaves before we heard the scream. Our attackers should be going slowly, not gaining ground. I risk a glance, and what I see nearly causes me to stumble over a branch.

A pack of something that look like small lions, cougars maybe, are chasing us. There are three in pursuit, but it sounded like more when I heard them coming towards us. It makes sense now. These animals, most likely mutts, are built for this terrain. They can jump over the fallen trees, instead of having to climb over them.

"Cougars!" I manage to yell to Lily over my shoulder, using what little breath I have left. We've been running full-out for a while, and navigating this terrain without falling is difficult. Falling means death, I'm sure of it. I suddenly wish that Lily was in front of me. That way, if she fell, I could help her. I can hear the cougars close behind us as we break through the trees. The river stretches before us.

"Jump right in," I yell. Lily's a few steps behind me. I plunge into the river. The cold hits me like a wall of solid metal, taking the air from my lungs. The current is throwing me around, and I have no idea which way is up. I panic as my vision starts to darken. I try to straighten myself out, and by some miracle I manage to maneuver out of the undertow. I kick upwards, or at least in the direction I believe to be up, and my head breaks the surface. I gasp for air and look around. I've landed myself far down the stream. I'm just wondering where Lily went when I realize. _She can hardly swim. _

I crawl onto the bank, throwing my backpack down and scanning the river. If I almost drowned, what is happening to her? I can't see her anywhere. I see the cougars, far upstream, dipping their feet in the river. Soon enough they'll realize how to cross. I try to swallow my panic as I scan the river. I catch a glimpse of Lily, several feet from where I stand. Her head breaks the surface. I run towards her. She's struggling to breathe and swim at the same time. I drop onto my stomach on the bank, stretching out a hand to her. She grabs it, and I pull her out of the river.

She falls onto the bank, gasping for air and coughing up a mouthful of water. I wonder how long she went without air.

"Are you alright?" It sounds stupid as soon as I say it. Of course she's not alright.

"Yeah. Are you?" Her lips are blue and her teeth are chattering.

I nod, looking up the river. The cougars are still gathered at the edge, trying to figure out how to cross.

We sit for a minute, catching our breath. I'm shivering uncontrollably.

"It's the backpacks," Lily says.

"What?" I look at her.

"The backpacks. They're like flotation devices. I almost drowned, but mine pulled me up."

That explains it. In my panic, my kicking wasn't doing any good. It was the backpack that pulled me up. "That makes sense. I'm glad we're alright." I don't point out that the dwindling number of tributes only means that we have to split up. She knows as well as I do.

I'm looking up the river when I see it. I guess Lily can tell that I've seen something, because she looks at me questioningly.

"The cougars," I say, and she spins around to look.

The first cougar is in the water, and it's powerful. It's making a good pace across, since the undertow doesn't seem to be affecting it. I look around in a panic. There's nowhere to hide, and we can't run forever.

I turn to Lily. Her eyes are wide, but she doesn't look scared. I don't feel any fear. I've known this was going to happen at some point. I wish there was something I could do for Lily. If there was only one cougar, I could hold it off. I won't make much of a difference against three. Our weapons combined probably can't even take down one.

I look at Lily. There's steam rising off her damp hair. I brush a strand out of her face. "Lily," I say. "I-"

She reaches out a hand, putting it on my cheek. "Don't say anything that's going to make this harder," she says.

I nod, turning to check the progress of the cougars. The first one is in the water, almost a quarter of the way across. I look over Lily's shoulder, and that's when I see it. A path, twisting up the side of the mountain. It's steep, but managable. The pack of cougars, all of which are now making their way across the river, are between us and the path.

I grab my backpack and sprint as fast as I can towards the path. I hope Lily will just follow, as there's no time to explain. I pass the cougars when the first one is only about twenty feet from the bank. There's still a good fifty feet to the path. I can hear Lily right behind me.

"The path!" I call over my shoulder.

"I see it," she answers.

I can hear more feet, and know that at least one of the cougars is now out of the water. I can see the path, a dozen feet away, and notice for the first time that there's a ledge up. It's tall, at least the height of my neck. How will this work? I think of the girl, and the horrible amount of time it took for her cannon to fire. There's no way I'm letting that happen to Lily. With a few feet to the ledge, I run as fast as I can. I manage to get my hands up and struggle to pull myself up. I turn around and grab Lily's wrist, pulling her up after me. I stagger away from the edge, catching my breath. Lily doubles over, clutching her side.

The cougars are at the bottom of the ledge. They can probably jump, I realize, but it's too late now. I sit up. They're sitting at the bottom, not even trying to jump. That's weird.

I stand up. We can't stay here. "Let's go," I urge Lily. She stands up without complaint. I look up. The path is almost vertical. It's going to be a difficult climb.

The sky is darkening as we climb the cliff. It's steep, and a lot of the time there's no path, just ledges, and we need to use our hands to pull ourselves up. It's a two person job, and on the steeper ledges, one of us will boost the other up, and then they can reach up and pull the second person up.

By the time we're a few dozen yards from the top, the sky is darkening. I sit on the ground, careful not to look at the ground far below. I probably can't even see it anyway, since it's so dark out. I can't decide if that's a comfort or not. "Should we camp here?" I ask Lily.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan," she says. The ledge can't be seen from the top because of an overhang.

"Do you think that Ajax is still up there?" Lily asks.

I think for a second. "I don't think so. He has nothing to guard anymore, so why stay in one place?"

"He must be starving," she says. "Unless he got some sponsors."

"Yeah. But at least we're not," I say. We collected a few plants after Lily woke up, before the cougars came.

I pull the sleeping bag out of my backpack. It's dry, thanks to the waterproof bags. My t-shirt is pretty dry, but my pants and jacket aren't. "You sleep first," I tell Lily. "I'll guard."

She shakes her head. "I don't think it's a good idea to be out of the sleeping bag in this weather."

I nod. "I'll lie in the sleeping bag, but I'll stay awake. Anyone coming over the ledge won't be able to have a hand on their weapon."

"You need to sleep too, Marvel. Let me guard."

"No, you sleep." I pull a pineneedle out of her hair, pulling the sleeping bag up to her chin.

She puts her head on the cold rock. "There are ten people left," she tells me. Her voice sounds hollow.

"I'm not leaving you."

"I'm not leaving you either. I'd rather die with you," she tells me.

"Me too. I guess this is how it was supposed to be. Imagine if we could go back, even just a week before the Reaping. Back to history class. I had no idea this was how it would turn out."

The anthem plays, and I see the girl who was killed by the mutt. It's the girl from twelve. I guess she survived the bloodbath afterall.

Lily takes my hand, which was resting on the rock beside her head. She holds it until she falls asleep. Sitting here, beside her, is the safest I've felt since my parents died.

I wake at dawn. Everything is the familiar shadowy gray. Lily's head rests on my chest. Guilt rushes through me. I can't believe I fell asleep. That's twice. If we'd been killed, it would have been my fault. I lie still for a while, letting Lily sleep and watching the sun light up the scenery. I have a spectacular view of the arena. I can see the river and the sea of trees stretching as far as the eye can see, framed by the distant mountains.

Lily wakes up after a few minutes, rolling her head off my chest and sitting up. I smile reassuringly at her, then feel like a liar. We don't say anything. What is there to say?

As we're packing up the sleeping bag and trying to make a plan, a cannon fires, followed by another one a few minutes later.

"Do you think it was Ajax and Hugo?" Lily asks me. "That'd make things easier."

"Maybe," I say. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

We climb the rest of the cliff. I look over the top before climbing up and offering Lily a hand. I guess that Ajax did abandon our campsite after all. He's nowhere in sight, but that doesn't mean he isn't watching us. I hold my spear beside me, ready to throw. We jog across the flat rock surface, where the tributes all stood at the beginning of the Games, and enter the forest.

"I think food is a priority here," I tell Lily. We ate the rest of the plants and berries we collected while packing up the sleeping bag.

She nods. "I'm starving. I'll go find some plants or something. I think the cold is killing a lot of the vegetation around here."

"That makes sense, but a lot of people are going to die off if they can't find food. Maybe they're having a feast soon."

"Yeah, maybe." She looks distracted about something.

I think about how there are only eight tributes left. I wonder if that's what she's thinking.

"I'll go find some food," she says. "You can stay here and watch for Ajax and Camilla."

"Maybe I should go with you," I say.

She shakes her head. "We're not both getting out of here," she says. "If I get killed, I'd rather that you weren't the one to do it."

I nod. I would never kill her, but I know what she's trying to say.

"Alright," I agree. "Don't go too far, though."


	9. Hugo

**Hi guys! So I'm on an exchange for the month of July and I thought I should warn you that I might not be posting **_**as **_**much. I'll still post, obviously, just not as much. Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I post. You can tell me what you want to happen to the characters in your review, if you want. Enjoy! **

**Lily**

I walk away, turning back to look at Marvel. He's watching me, still looking worried. I wave and smile at him, and he smiles back meekly. As I walk, I think about the number of tributes left. There are only eight. I can't bear the thought of it coming down to Marvel and I. He must want to leave me, in the same sense that I want to leave him. I'd rather not, of course, but that's not the smart choice. It can't come down to the two of us.

I walk for a few dozen feet, but can't find anything that's alive. A branch snaps somewhere to my left and I freeze in my tracks, heart pounding. I stand perfectly still, listening. Should I head back to Marvel? We're safer together, but if someone is following me, then they'll find him too. Only one of us can win this thing, I remind myself. It's that thought that makes me decide to continue in the direction I was going. I doubt it was another tribute, or else I would've heard more noise. I count silently to three hundred, and when I don't hear another noise, I continue walking.

I see lots of plants, but they're all dead. Just a bit farther, I tell myself, there must be something up there. It's probably not a good idea to go farther, but I figure it's worth it for food.

I swing the axe by my side, looking for plants. Everything I step on is dead, and I try not to crunch too much as I walk. The pine needles muffle most of my steps. I veer a bit off course, looking down at the ground. I spot something green, and stop for a closer look. I'm reaching to pluck it out of the ground when someone rips my axe from my hand and throws it behind them. I spin around, and someone a lot taller than me punches me squarely in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me. I stagger, and they swing their knife. It catches me under my eye and I jump back, which drags the knife beside my eye and up to my forehead. Blood streams into my eye and down my cheek. I fumble around, trying to run, but my assailant tackles me to the ground, easily pinning me down.

For the first time, I get a glimpse of who it is. I thought it was Ajax, but I can see brown hair, as opposed to Ajax's dark hair. The realization hits me. Only one person left in this arena could pin me down like this, as if they weren't really trying. _Hugo._

His legs pin my arms down, and kicking my feet gives me no chance of unseating him. He must be at least double my weight. He's panting, trying to catch his breath.

"Where's - Marvel?" he asks between gulps of air.

I squirm, but it's no use. "I'm not telling you," I say angrily. One of us has to die, and I guess now is my time. I'm glad Marvel isn't here to risk his life to save mine.

He puts his knife close to my throat. "Are you sure about that?"

I don't answer. I don't care what he does. I'm not telling him anything.

He wipes the blood out of my eye, rubbing his sleeve roughly across the cut. It hurts, but I don't say anything. I can see a bit better now. "I don't want this to be more painful than it has to be," he says, "but I need to know where he is."

I don't say anything. I wish he would just kill me and leave, before Marvel starts worrying about me. He'll know soon, but hopefully Hugo will be gone by then, and Marvel won't have to take him on alone.

A speaker crackles, followed by loud beeping sound. Hugo looks up, and I try to move my arms, but with one of his knees on each of my forearms, it's no use. "Attention remaining tributes," a voice booms. "There has been a slight... rule change. We may crown two victors, if they're from the same district. This rule will apply this year only. May the odds be ever in your favor." The speaker crackles again, and the voice cuts out.

My ears are ringing. Two victors? My first reaction is not happiness, but anger. They set this up. They know that I'm going to die, and they want to make it all the worse for Marvel. I've never been so angry. I'm so angry that I actually laugh. Hugo stares at me.

"Nice timing," I shout, still smiling. I hope the cameras caught that. Somehow, despite my imminent death, the thought of the Capitol hearing my words brings me satisfaction.

Hugo just stares at me. "I'll find him eventually," he says, and brings the knife up high, ready for the stab that will surely kill me. I squeeze my eyes shut. I can picture Aella and Nicholas watching. That thought is more painful than the thought of what is about to happen. If Marvel wins, I know he'll make sure they're alright. I should've told him something to tell them. His chances of going home were always much bigger than mine.

I keep my eyes closed, saying silent goodbyes to my family and Marvel. I feel Hugo move and open my eyes. I look behind Hugo, to his left, and see a cougar running full speed towards us. It grabs Hugo by the back of the neck, and he's taken by surprise. He rolls off me, but not before stabbing his knife into my lower ribcage. The pain is unbelievable. A strip of red crosses my vision. I can tell that the knife punctured more than just skin. Hugo rolls away from me, wrestling with the cougar, and I try to stand up. It's useless. Blood is pouring out of the wound. I could yell for Marvel, but then Hugo might kill him. I stagger away, leaving a trail of blood. My vision is doing weird things, and everything is bright. I see another mutt to my right, preparing to pounce. I hope it can end my misery.

It springs, easily landing its paws on my shoulders, and I fall to the ground. It doesn't do anything at first, just holds me there. It's making weird noises, and the other mutt, with which Hugo is wrestling, is making the noises back. I guess that's how they communicate, confirming my guess about them being mutts. It makes another weird noise and turns back to me, baring its teeth.

I can hardly see due to blood loss, but I can still feel pain. I scream as the mutt bites my arm. I've never felt anything like it. I can feel the bone crushing. The pain is astounding. The cougar rears back its paw and hits my face. I can feel it rip my skin, but it's nothing compared to the pain of my arm. Black dances on the edges of my vision.

**Sorry, that was a bit short. I have the next chapter all typed, so I'll upload it tonight as well. I really hated to steal the two victors idea from the real book, but I couldn't think of another way to keep both Lily and Marvel alive. I got some messages on tumblr asking me to keep them alive, so I complied, (I had originally planned on it). You can leave things like that in your review, or send them on tumblr, both work. The ending is different than the real book, though, don't worry! **


	10. Sponsor

**Marvel**

I look up as I hear a scream. I was walking in the direction that Lily went, after I heard the announcement, but now I break into a run. I can't seem to go fast enough. She's smaller than almost everyone left.

I kick past a fallen branch, arriving in a small clearing. What I see causes my heart to stop. Lily lies on the ground, pinned down by a cougar. I react before I think, throwing my spear and burying it in the cougar's neck. It drops to the ground. I hear a commotion and see a figure running into the woods. Another cougar lies dead. Lily is lying on the ground, covered in blood. I run to her, dropping to my knees and pulling off my jacket and shirt. We need bandages. She clutches at my hand.

"Too cold," she manages to say, concern in her eyes.

She's right. The brief exposure has caused my teeth to start chattering. I zip my jacket back on and start tearing the shirt into strips, releasing her hand. "No more talking," I say. She's going to pass out if she tries to talk. I tear through my backpack, looking for something, anything, to staunch the flow of blood. There's so much. It covers her clothes and mine as well.

"Hugo," Lily says.

"He ran away," I say, now looking through her backpack. I pull out the sheet of plastic. I lift her back, trying to put it underneath her arm. She clenches her jaw and tears pour down her cheeks, but she doesn't make a sound. I feel so bad, causing her this pain. I wrap the plastic around her arm, tucking it under her shoulder. "The other mutt is dead."

I tie one of the strips around her ribcage, trying not to hurt her. There's so much blood. Everytime her heart beats, more blood gushes from the wounds. Her eyes slide closed and I panic. I tap her face lightly, but her eyes don't open. I hit her harder and they slide open, struggling to focus on my face. "Stay awake!" I can feel my eyes filling with tears, but I don't care.

Her eyes slide closed again. I yell and lightly hit her face, but her eyes remain closed. She's so pale. I grab a waterbottle from my pack and pour some on her face. It mixes with the blood, creating a pink liquid that runs down her cheeks.

"Stop," she says. "I just need a second to sleep."

"You don't understand!" I yell to her. "You need to stay awake!" I brush a curl off her cheek and tuck it behind her ear.

The wounds have stopped bleeding as much as they were, but the bandages are all soaked through. Her eyes slide closed again. She doesn't understand. "Wake up!" I prop her head on my lap with shaking hands.

"I'm fine," Lily says, her eyes half closed. Her words are slurred.

"You're not fine!" I shout. "I can't lose you! I can't."

She struggles to keep her eyes open, reaching for my hand. I take it and hold on. "I can't lose you," I repeat. If Lily dies, what do I have to go home to? Nothing. I'd be a mentor. Alone. I'd mentor the kids I've trained with, the kids I know. I brush the hair out of her eyes, then slide her head off my lap, standing up.

"Stay," she says. It's so quiet I barely hear it.

"I'm not leaving you," I say. "I never will. I promise." I walk a few feet away and pluck a flower from the ground, sitting back down beside her and tucking it behind her ear. "We're going home, alright? We're going home, whatever it takes." I put my hand on her cheek, brushing the tears away with my thumb. She looks at me, her blue eyes struggling to focus.

I reach behind me and grab the sleeping bag. I threw it out of the backpack when I was looking for bandages. I spread it over top of her.

"I'm warm," she says, but I put it on top of her anyway, then lie down next to her on the ground.

The night passes in a blur. She keeps falling asleep, but I sit with her, her head on my chest, making sure she stays awake. I talk about home, how Aella and Nicholas wouldn't like it if she fell asleep. At first I think that the story is having no effect, but eventually I can tell she really is trying to stay awake.

When the forest begins to lighten, I check her bandages. All the wounds are still bleeding. She looks at my questioningly and I smile at her reassuringly, watching as her eyes slide closed. I look up at the sky.

"Please Gloss," I say. "Send us something. Anything. We're so close." I feel like my request is futile - no tribute has ever gotten a sponsor as expensive as what I need for Lily. I turn back to her, gently taking her hand.

"Lily," I say. "You need to wake up."

She looks at me blearily. The blood is matted on her face, and I lean closer. I can see that a cut that runs across her cheek has almost ripped through to the inside of her mouth. I feel my heart drop. "Don't use the sponsors," she mumbles. "You need them after I'm gone."

I bite my lip. She doesn't think she's going to make it. "You're not leaving," I say. "I won't let you."

She smiles, her eyes closing. "Okay," she says quietly, still clutching my hand. She's so pale.

I'm about to wake her up when a silver parachute floats down, landing by her foot. I reach for it, taking her hand out of mine. I open it with shaking hands. What I see shocks me. A syringe, some black thread that feels like plastic, and a sewing needle.

Lily looks at me in confusion. I thread the needle. "What's that for?" Her words are slurred.

"I'm so sorry, Lily," I say. My earlier words ring in my head. Whatever it takes. I plunge the syringe into her right arm.

**Lily**

I wake up feeling a lot better. I sit up tentatively. My head spins, but blood doesn't pour into my eye. I reach up and feel the cuts on my face. I can feel scabs, which is a good sign. There are four seperate ones, one that stretches from my cheek up to my forehead, passing my temple, and three that seem to be parallel, starting on my cheek and crossing my mouth, nose, and chin, and ending close to my ear on the other side.

I hesitate for a second before looking down at my ribcage. I see angry red flesh, but no blood. Stitches hold my flesh together. I struggle to remember what happened last night. I remember getting a sponsor and being confused by the sight of a needle and thread. I must have passed out as Marvel started stitching. The stitches aren't in a line, they seem to be all over the place. The cut wasn't done in a line, it was more of a stab, and I guess it ripped my skin in several places.

My arm still hurts enough to make me wince when I move it, but it's nothing compared to yesterday. It's wrapped in some sort of sling, which keeps it steady. I can see that the skin around it is stitched.

Marvel lies beside me and I turn to him. His hands are covered in blood, and he lies with his head on the ground, breathing evenly. No point in waking him.

Everything from yesterday comes back in a rush. Hugo. The mutts. Marvel finding me. The announcement. The announcement! We can both win! I look at him, brushing his hair back. It's matted with blood, but I can't see a cut on his head.

I feel my own hair, matted with blood like Marvel's. I pull a flower out. It's not dead yet, but the stem is covered with blood. Vaguely I remember Marvel putting it in my hair when I was only half concious. I smile and put it beside me.

I sit up slowly and manage without my head spinning. I crawl away from the rock wall and into the sun. It's bright out, and warmer than it has been for our duration here. I walk a few dozen feet away, always keeping the wall and Marvel in sight, and manage to find an edible plant. I dig the whole thing up and bring it back to our clearing.

Marvel wakes as I sit back down. He looks at me for a minute, as if not believing that I'm real. I smile at him, and he pulls me into his arms. We sit like that for a long time, with my chin on his shoulder and his arms around my neck. Eventually he pulls away. "I'm so glad you're alright," he says, brushing my hair back. "You were almost dead last night. There were two other cannons while you were out. You, Ajax, Thalia, Hugo and I are the only ones left." I hope that another tribute finds Thalia before we do. I feel guilty immeadiately after I think it. Am I really wishing her dead?

Marvel must see something on my face, because he looks worried. "Are you all right?"

I nod. He reaches out and wipes some of the blood off of my cheek, carefully avoiding the cuts.

We share the leaves off the plant. It's not much, but I'm not that hungry, despite not having eaten for two days.

He hugs me again, and we stay like that for a long time. I fall asleep with my head on his chest, and can't remember ever sleeping so well.


	11. Final Fight

**Lily**

When I wake up, I'm starving. The only thing I've eaten in the past three days is the plant that Marvel and I shared last night. He's already awake. "We need food." he says. It's night time. We slept off most of the day yesterday-in the open, which probably wasn't a good idea.

"Is now a good time?" I ask, even though I'm starving as well.

"I think it's now or never," he says.

I nod and follow him. We try to go quietly through the forest, but there's frost on the ground, and it makes a noise everytime we take a step.

"Is this a good idea?" I whisper to Marvel.

He stops and turns to me. "There's not really another choice," he says. "We've stayed in one place for too long. Hugo might come back."

I nod and follow him as he continues walking. It's dark. Every footfall seems like a bomb blast. Every shadow looks like another tribute crouching in the dark, waiting to attack. My heart is pounding.

Marvel stops and turns to me. "I think they're bringing us somewhere," he whispers.

I nod. "It's too quiet."

"Let's just keep going," he says.

I follow him in silence for what I guess to be at least a mile. He stops and I catch a glimpse of the Cornucopia through the trees.

I move so that I'm beside him, and we kneel in the underbrush. "I didn't see a single plant the whole way here," I whisper to Marvel. In the silence, it seems like I'm yelling.

"Me neither," he whispers back. His breath makes a cloud in the cold air. "Should we just stay here and watch? See if anything interesting happens?"

I nod and settle onto the ground, trying to be comfortable but still able to jump up if I have to.

We watch the Cornucopia until the moon is halfway across the sky. We're silent,and I hear a branch crack, somewhere far to the right. My guess is that there are other tributes here. I think of Thalia. Are we about to be thrown into a fight with her? I try not to think about it.

I'm not sure why we decided to come here, but I feel like we needed to. When the moon is directly overhead, a table appears out of the ground. On it sits one piece of bread. Not a loaf, just a slice. Do they honestly expect us to run out into the open for one slice of bread? I'm about to tell Marvel that there's no way we're putting ourselves out in the open, just for a slice of bread, when a branch snaps right behind us.

I whip around and come face to face with a mutt. Its eyes are inches from my face, and I can feel its breath on my neck. I scream involuntarily, and it bears its teeth. I can see blood caught between them. Marvel jumps to his feet, and we sprint onto the plain.

"Cornucopia!" he yells, and I follow. We ignore the bread on the table, and he boosts me up. I turn around and pull him up after me.

The cougar reaches the bottom just as Marvel pulls his leg up. It growls and bares its teeth, but doesn't try to jump. It probably could if it tried.

"You alright?" Marvel asks.

"Yeah. Sorry about screaming." I try to regain my breath.

"Don't worry about it. It scared me too," he says.

"I guess they all know we're here now," I say.

He nods. "Most likely."

The cougar seems to be settling onto the ground, as if it's going to take a nap. I sit cross legged on the Cornucopia, rubbing my hands together. At least now no one can sneak up on us.

**Marvel**

We sit in silence for a long time, the cougar making sure that we don't leave. The metal of the Cornucopia is freezing beneath my legs. I look over at Lily. She's staring into the distance. I can see her breath in the air. The scabs on her face look black in the darkness. She looks over at me, reaching out a hand. I take it, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I feel like it's an empty gesture, but it makes me feel better, so maybe she does too.

As the moon approaches the top of the forest, I hear a commotion to my right. I look over as Ajax comes tearing out of the forest, followed by Thalia. They're sprinting towards the Cornucopia, a cougar close behind Thalia. I jump to my feet, dropping Lily's hand and aiming my spear. She grabs my arm.

"Don't use it," Lily says urgently. She's right. I only have one left. If I kill Ajax, then we'll have to fight Hugo, whenever he comes, with no weapons. There's still Thalia to think about as well. I push the thought from my mind. Lily has her axe and couple of knives, which aren't big enough to kill anyone unless you stab them repeatedly. I hope we don't have to do that, but I will if it means Lily and I can go home. What has this arena done to me? I've turned into a monster.

Ajax reaches the Cornucopia first and climbs up, turning around as Thalia throws a hand on top. There's a mutt right at her heels. Ajax turns and kicks her right in the face. I can tell her nose is broken, both from the crunching sound and the blood that erupts. She grabs Ajax's ankle and shoves him away. She pulls herself up as Ajax stumbles and falls, still on top of the Cornucopia.

Ajax retreats to the far side and Thalia straightens up, gasping for breath. Blood pours down her face. I had thought briefly that they were in an alliance, but it must've just been the cougar that drove them together.

I back up to the other side and Lily follows. If I throw my spear at Ajax, then Hugo, or Thalia, will kill one of us. I can see a sword in Thalia's hand, and Ajax has several knives as well as an awl.

"Marvel," Lily whispers, "We-"

"No whispering," Ajax snaps. He's in the same position that we are. If he throws his sword, then he will be left weaponless and facing two opponents.

"I can't believe you two are still alive," he says, straightening up. "Good to see you, Marvel." He says it sarcastically, glaring at me. "I'm going to drag out your death, after what you did with the supplies. Maybe I'll kill your precious Lily first, just so you can watch her die." His voice is dripping with sarcasm, especially the part about Lily. But I know he means every word he says.

"I won't let that happen," I say calmly, even though my heart is racing.

"We'll see about that," Ajax says, smirking. He turns to Thalia. "And you," he shakes his head. His voice is so quiet I can barely hear him. "You killed Camilla. I can't wait until I get my hands on you." I've never seen anyone look so angry and dangerous. He must've seen the body of the person who really did kill Camilla. What is he talking about? It's clear that Thalia didn't kill her.

I'm watching their exchange and trying to figure out what to do when someone screams. It cuts off before it's finished.

I spin around, and what I see causes my heart to stop. Hugo holds Lily in a headlock. He's so tall that her feet are barely touching the ground. He holds a knife at her throat. I stand alone between Ajax and Thalia, who are to my left, and Hugo and Lily, to my right.

Ajax laughs. "You've made my job easier, Hugo."

Lily is struggling in Hugo's grasp, but he's too strong. She twists violently and manages to get some air. "Tell-" she begins, but Hugo easily lifts her and throws her off the side of the Cornucopia.

It's not a long fall, but if she lands in a bad position she could break her back - or her neck. Ignoring the fact that I'm surrounded by enemies, I turn my back on them and lie on my stomach. Lily is standing up, a few feet from the side of the Cornucopia. Relief floods through me.

She looks to her left and breaks into a run. "Watch your back!" She yells to me. I glance back over my shoulder. Hugo, who only has a single sword, is still standing where he was before. Ajax and Thalia are talking. Thalia is shaking her head, looking terrified, and Ajax is walking slowly towards her. It won't be long until they fight, and after that, Ajax, assuming he wins, will turn his attention to Lily and I. Lily is almost at the base of the Cornucopia. I stretch my hand down to her, pulling her up. She's halfway up when a cougar comes tearing around the corner, grabbing her leg. She gasps, and I can see blood. The cougar, though I have no idea why, releases her, slinking off around the corner once again.

I pull her on top of the Cornucopia. She collapses into my arms, blood gushing from her leg. I try to keep the panic out of my eyes. "It's going to be fine," I say. I hope it's true. There's so much blood. Still supporting some of her weight, I ease her down so she can sit.

I turn back around. Ajax is only feet from Thalia, and he's yelling now. She's still shaking her head, clutching her sword. Ajax pulls a knife from his belt. Why doesn't she throw her sword? Hugo is standing a dozen feet away, over the mouth of the Cornucopia. Before I know what's happening, Ajax launches himself at Thalia. She tries to stab him, but he easily knocks the sword out of her hand. It clatters as it hits the metal beneath her feet.

They wrestle for a second, but Thalia's efforts are futile. Ajax wraps an arm around her neck, holding her in a headlock. Her eyes are wide, but she doesn't look scared anymore. He pulls a knife out of his belt with his free hand. He brings it close to her throat and whispers something in her ear. She struggles, managing to get his arm away from her neck for a second. "I didn't kill her!" she shouts.

He wraps his arm back around her, the tip of the knife pointed at her neck. "I could've gone home with her," he says, more to himself than anyone else. "But you," he's so quiet. "You ruined everything."

In one fluid motion, he brings the knife away from her, so that it's equal with her stomach. Then, as I watch in horror, he brings it up quickly, stabbing it into her neck and shoving it towards her head, all the way up to the handle. Blood sprays everywhere. Ajax drops her body, which is still moving - _still screaming_.

Behind me, Lily screams. I turn around. She's got her hands over her face, and her shoulders are shaking. She pulls them away and tries to stand up. Her face is pale, making the scabs look even blacker. "You monster!" she screams at Ajax, trying to get to her feet. "What is wrong with you?"

I turn around and put my hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her sitting. Her leg, which is soaked with blood, isn't allowing her to stand. "You're going to pass out," I say. "Stay sitting."

She takes a shuddering breath. "He's a monster." Her shoulders shake as she sobs. She's never looked at me with fear in her eyes, even after all we've been through. But now, as she looks at me, I can see it plain and clear.

"It's going to be all right," I say. I feel sick to my stomach. A cannon fires. Thalia must be gone. I can't help but feel relief. At least she's no longer in pain.

Lily looks over my shoulder and her eyes widen. "Marvel!"

I spin around in time to see Hugo charging past us. He runs at Ajax, grabbing him around the neck. Ajax screams, launching himself at Hugo. They wrestle, both trying to get into the better position. Thalia's body is knocked over the side of the Cornucopia. Hugo, who has gotten his hand on his knife, reaches out and stabs Ajax, somewhere around his shoulder. Ajax screams, blood soaking his shirt. Hugo drags him to the tail end of the Cornucopia, shoving him off. I know what's there. A hundred and fifty foot drop to solid rock. I turn to Lily, who's still sitting on the ground, head in her hands. I can hear Ajax screaming as he falls. Lily covers her ears. She's shaking, though from blood loss or fear, I don't know. The scream cuts off just before the cannon fires. It's just us and Hugo. Two on one.

"Well, well, well," Hugo says, walking towards us. His shirt is stained with blood. Ajax's blood. I stand so that I'm between him and Lily. "I'd be careful with that," he tells me, pointing to the spear in my hand. "The second you throw it, I'm going to make sure this sword hits her in the chest." I don't say anything. I have to act soon. He's closing the gap between us. We have to go home. We've come so far.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, but I don't turn around. Lily limps so that she's standing beside me. Hugo stops walking towards us. "So you can still walk," he says. "How did you survive what I did to your ribs?"

Lily doesn't answer him. She holds her axe in her hand. Before I know what's happening, she's throwing the axe. It hits Hugo in the stomach and he doubles over, blood pooling around his hands as he clutches at his stomach. I throw the spear, hitting him in the head. A cannon fires. I look away.

"Congratulations District One! Victors of the Seventy Third Hunger Games!" I hardly hear it. My ears are ringing. Beside me, Lily collapses. I fall to my knees, pulling off my jacket and wrapping it around her leg. The blood runs through my hands. She's so pale.

"Lily!" I scream. "Lily! Wake up! We won! We're going home!" She doesn't move. I put my head in my hands. "Lily!" I scream as loudly as I can, drowning out the noise of the hovercraft above me. The last thing I remember is a man dressed all in white lifting Lily, taking her away from me. What are they going to do to her? I yell and feel a prick in my arm. Then everything goes black.

**AN:**** Hi guys! So I'm done the arena time now, obviously. The next chapters are going to seem a bit rushed, since the story really can't continue without crucial characters who are going to be introduced for the next Games. After those Games, there's going to be more Lily/Marvel fluff and more events around District 1. I really hope you're enjoying this! Remember what I said: ****If you have something you would like to see happen, leave a review and I might just put it in!**


	12. Return

**AN:**** This chapter is a filler, and it's mildly awful. Sorry. **

**Marvel**

I wake in an unfamiliar room. It's dark. Instinctively, I feel for Lily beside me. I panic for a second when I realize that she's not there. Did I fall asleep during my guard shift? The whir of a fan is what brings me back to my senses. It's over. We won. We're going home. The last thing I can remember is Lily, lying beside me, covered in blood. There was so much blood. Too much for me to contain in my jacket. Too much for me to do anything about. I swing my legs out of bed. They feel strong, despite the fact that all I've hardly eaten for the past - how long has it been? I try to count the number of nights I spent in the arena, but can't.

I slide open a door and recognize the apartment. I can see Gloss sitting on the couch downstairs, reading a newspaper. I walk down the stairs. He looks up as I'm halfway down.

"You did it!" he says, pulling me into a hug at the bottom. He pushes my shoulders back so he can look me in the eye. "You guys were so strong."

I nod. "We couldn't have done it without that sponsor," I say, looking over his shoulder for Lily. I don't see her. "Where's Lily?"

He drops my gaze. "She's still in surgery. Her leg was pretty mangled, and something happened to her appendix, where Hugo stabbed her."

"Still in surgery? How long was I out?" I can feel the panic. I don't trust anyone here, not after what they put us through.

"About," he glances at his watch. "Six hours."

"Is she going to be alright?" I ask.

"I don't see why not," Gloss says. "They've handled worse situations than this before." He leads me to the living room. I slump down into a chair.

"I thought the stitches would hold," I say, more to myself than him.

"They would've," Gloss says, running his hands through his blond hair. "They think it was because she picked up the axe at the end. It was too heavy for her, in her state. I'm sure falling off the Cornucopia didn't help."

I nod. "Can I go see her?"

"They're not letting anyone in. Cashmere's down there now. She's not alone."

We stay in the living room for a long time. An avox brings food in, but I'm not hungry. Gloss continues reading the paper. We don't talk, but it's not an uncomfortable silence. When the sun is almost directly overhead, I hear the elevator whir.

I turn around, looking over the back of the couch. Cashmere steps out, followed by Lily, who is on crutches. Her curly hair is shiny again. The cuts on her face are still scabs, and I can see that they stitched up the worst one - the one that almost went through to the inside of her mouth. The cut above her eyebrow is almost gone, but I can tell there's going to be a scar on the part under her eye where it was the worst. She walks awkwardly over to the couch, dropping her crutches and hopping on one leg - the one that isn't encased in a cast that goes halfway up her thigh - towards me. I reach out a hand and she takes it, collapsing beside me on the couch.

I smile at her and squeeze her hand, but it's really no comfort after what we just went through. She makes no move to take her hand out of mine, so I guess it is some comfort.

Cashmere sits across from the couch in a chair beside Gloss, running her hands through the hair that so closely resembles her brother's. She has dark circles under her eyes.

"Are you feeling better, Lily?" she asks.

I look at Lily. She was staring at nothing, but she looks at Cashmere. "Yeah," she says quietly.

Cashmere claps her hands and puts them on her knees. "You guys did it," she says. "I'm so glad you're both here."

"I'm glad too," I say. I'm finding it hard to talk. I can't believe we're both alive. Everyone's quiet for a moment, lost in their thoughts.

"If your side hurts, Lily, then we have to back downstairs, all right?" Cashmere says.

Lily nods. "It's fine right now."

"What happened to your side?" I ask. "I mean, I know what happened, but I thought it was all right."

"Something happened to my appendix," she says. "I'm not sure, actually. What did they do, Cashmere?"

Cashmere looks at her. "When you picked up the axe, it was too much strain. They had to take out your appendix."

Lily doesn't look surprised by the fact that she's missing an organ. She just nods. I notice a piece of bandage sticking out from underneath her shirt. They must've wrapped up her whole torso.

Gloss, who's been very quiet, leans forward in his chair, shaking his head. "I had no idea how strong you two were." He gestures to Cashmere. "There were a few times when we thought one or both of you wasn't going to make it, but you did. I'm so happy you're both alive."

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking. No one brings up the arena, which is a relief. Mostly we talk about going home. At one point, Cashmere mentions that these were the shortest Games in fifty years. We were only in the arena for a week, but it feels like so much longer.

As the sun balances on the brightly lit horizon of the Capitol, Cashmere and Gloss exchange a glance. Gloss clears his throat. "We booked your interview for tonight," he says. My heart drops. I knew we were going to have to do it at some point, but I still don't want to. "That way we can head home tomorrow morning."

That makes sense. I'd rather do it tonight and get it over with. The sooner we can go home, away from the cameras, the better.

**Lily**

Upon our return to District One, life maintains a steady rythym for several months. Marvel and I grow closer together. We spent an enjoyable afternoon in the fall building two swings that hang from the huge maple tree in the ring of grass in the middle of Victor's Circle, arguing about whose is more lopsided. They're really just boards with string holding them up, but we still like them. We spend a lot of time there, talking. Aella attends school, and Nicholas works in the mines. I worry about him down there, after what happened to my mother and father and so many others. He says it'll be fine. There aren't many other jobs around town, so I don't argue with him. Aella used to work after school, like me, sorting out the stones the miners bring up. She no longer has to work, since we have the house. Once she marries and moves out, she'll need to work. Since Nicholas is older than eighteen, he has to work. He's allowed to live with us, but he is required by law to work.

We moved into Victor's Circle immediately upon our return. I was sad to leave our house, but I know our parents would've wanted us to have the better house. The house in Victor's Circle was already equipped with furniture. The day after I got back I went back to our old house with Aella and Nicholas to get some of our personal belongings. There really wasn't much we needed, but we took our parent's wedding picture and hung it over the mantle in our new house. It felt more like home after that. Gloss introduced me to Agatha, District One's other Victor. She's old, and she won her Games a long time ago. I liked her immediately. She hugged me and has never asked anything about the Games, though I know I could talk to her if I ever wanted to. We eat outside on her wrap around porch in the summer, and at her oak table in her kitchen in the winter. We eat together, all of us, almost every night, and almost always at Agatha's house. In Victor's Circle, every house is two stories high, with a beautiful wrap around porch draped with wisteria. There are twinkling white Christmas lights entwined in the wisteria, lighting up the porch with a beautiful glow when we eat outside in the summer. It's one of my favourite things about living there. The actual houses have white siding and screen doors, with a heavier door behind the screen for the cold winters. At first I found the hardwood floors of the house to be too empty and creaky, but I got used to it once we had lived there for a while and it started to feel more like home.

Being Victors, Marvel and I were required to take up a pastime, since we don't have to go to school. We would've been done this year anyway, so we're not really missing much. I take up gardening, planting flowers and herbs in the garden behind our house. Marvel helps me dig it. He spends his time out back with me, writing in a notebook. He must've filled at least ten, but he's never shown me what he writes in them, and I never ask. He puts the notebooks away when he finishes, and though I'm not sure, I don't think he ever reads them. He doesn't show them to the Capitol, but it's something to pass the time, and Gloss said it was alright. On clear nights, we take a blanket and a telescope outside to look at the stars. Aella comes out sometimes with Nicholas and we try to name all the constellations. Those nights are some of the best. We also hike in the forest, sometimes with Gloss or Cashmere, or Aella and Nicholas. Marvel showed me a small lake that he knew of, in the forest behind our houses. It's nice there. Sometimes there are other people there, but not always. I don't swim, not after the arena, but I bring a book and read or just talk with Marvel, who, like me, isn't that eager to get into the water.

I often wonder what life would be like if my mother and father were here. Would they be proud of me for coming home? Or ashamed of the horrible things I did in order to do it? I often wonder this about Aella and Nicholas. I think they're just glad I came home. Only Marvel, Gloss, Cashmere and Agatha can understand how it feels to kill someone, especially an unarmed child. I try to push the thoughts from my mind.

As the Reaping draws nearer, I wake up screaming almost every night. I've relived our entire arena at least twenty times, almost every night. Marvel takes to sleeping in our house in the empty bedroom. He can always calm me down as I try to get a grip on the undistinguished line between nightmare and reality. I'm constantly grateful for the fact that since the Victory Tour is only every other year, we won't have to go. I don't know if I could do that, visiting the Districts of the kids who won't return. The kids who might've returned if it hadn't been for us.

We spend most of our time in the backyard. Marvel writes, and I plant flowers and vegetables. When we need a break we swing on the swings, which after the winter are almost falling apart.

I drag my heels along the ground one sunny afternoon. Marvel has been sitting immobile on his swing, writing something. He puts his pencil down and looks at me. I stop swinging.

"We should go to the training centre at some point," he says.

We've visited it a few times, and it's always hard. Antonius is always there. Marvel treats him like a little brother. He's fifteen, and I know that he's been training since he was young, since his parents died. It's common for children with no parents to be put into the dreaded Career lifestyle. That's what happened to Marvel. If it hadn't been for Nicholas being old enough to work, it's what would've become of my family. There are only four kids in the training program right now, all of them younger than Antonius. He's the only one over twelve, that's why no one volunteered for Marvel or I. People are starting to realize that so few tributes come back, and that District 2 is usually stronger, so no one wants to volunteer to enter the program.

From what I've seen, Antonius is pretty strong. He, like the few other kids there, doesn't want to be there, but he never complains. He's really good with throwing knives, which are by far his best weapon. He can hit a dummy between the eyes from across the room. Marvel's been trying to help him learn to use a spear. I taught him a bit about rock climbing. He's pretty good. We're going to work on that more in the coming years before he volunteers. He's one of the nicest kids I've ever met. He's always pleasant, talking to me about Aella and Nicholas, asking about Agatha and Cashmere and Gloss, thanking me for helping him. His brother, Leo, just turned twelve, but he's never training. I think that Antonius made sure he wouldn't lead the same lifestyle as he does.

"Sure," I say. "We could go right now."

"Sounds like a plan," Marvel answers, and we stand up. The walk is short, no more than a mile. We arrive in less than ten minutes.

Marvel holds the door of the training centre open for me. The lobby is deserted. We walk through a maze of hallways to the gym, passing the pool and the other rooms. The gym has a padded floor, which is good for wrestling and practicing with different weapons. There's also a rock wall, like the one I used in the training centre in the Capitol. A few weeks ago I showed Antonius how to make the knots for rapelling. He looked shy, asking me how I pulled off that feat during our last Games. Marvel might've told him not to talk to me about it, because of the nightmares, but I'm glad to share the things I know.

Antonius is on the rock climbing wall. He turns around as we walk in. He smiles and waves, what I've come to know as his trademark lopsided grin pasted on his face. We wave back and cross the floor. There's no one else in the room. He rapels easily down the wall.

"Nice," I say.

"Thanks. I've been practicing. I'm a lot better at this than I am with the spear."

"We need to work on that," Marvel says. "How are the survival stations coming?"

"Good. I know most of the berries, but leaves are still a problem."

"That's good. How about the throwing knives?" They don't practice a lot with those, since he's already so good.

Antonius shrugs. "Same as usual."

I sit on the edge of the padded floor, watching as Marvel helps Antonius with the spear. He's pretty good, a lot better than I ever was. Marvel is patient, showing him how to hold the spear and how to throw it. He's good at teaching. He has more patience than I do. Antonius can hit the dummy from a few dozen yards, though not always in the head of chest. It'd still be a pretty damaging wound. I think of my axe burying itself in Hugo's stomach, then try to clear the thought from my mind.

Marvel and Antonius practice for over an hour. The door from the hallway opens and Leo walks in. He waves to Marvel, then comes to sit beside me. School must be out.

"How're you?" I ask him.

He shrugs. "Fine. How about you?"

"Good," I lie. With the Reaping being so close, I'm anything but good.

"Aella was looking for you after school," Leo tells me. "I told her you were probably at the mines with Nicholas. I think she might've gone there looking for you."

"Thanks," I say. I'm sure she's fine, she probably just wondered where I was. Sometimes after school she'll go down to the mines to help some of the younger kids who need a break. We talk for a while more, while Marvel and Antonius move on to axe throwing. I watch as Marvel buries the axe in a dummie's stomach. I could go help. Marvel probably doesn't want to ask, in case it triggers some sort of flashback. I stand up.

"Let me show you how it's done," I say jokingly, smiling at Antonius. Marvel hands me the axe slowly.

I throw it and it spins, burying itself in the dummies would-be chest. A lethal hit. Marvel claps, and Antonius looks impressed. I spend a while showing him how to hold the axe, while Marvel talks to Leo. He's better with the axe than the spear. After an hour, he can throw it from a good distance and bury it in the dummy's chest.

We move onto the throwing knives, and I trade places with Marvel. I watch as Marvel takes a turn, hitting the dummy in the side. I remember Hugo stabbing me in that same area. I look away.

When the clock in the room says that it's six, we all head out. Antonius thanks us again and him and Leo head in the opposite direction. Marvel locks the door behind us and grabs my hand. We walk slowly towards Victor's Circle.

**AN: This was a filler chapter. It's going to get more interesting as soon as the Reaping happens, which will be next chapter. Sorry for the long wait, and thank you so much for reading. **


	13. Mentoring

**AN:**** I am so sorry for the long wait! I've had horrible writer's block, and I've been really busy. I'm returning home in two days, so I'll have more time to write. I've got more ideas now, so I'll be updating more often! Thank you so much for reading. Enjoy! **

**Marvel**

Nine o'clock finds me in the Town Square. I'm exhausted, but adrenaline pumps thorugh my veins. I slept for less than two hours last night. I stayed with Lily, but I don't think she slept much either. How could we, knowing what we had to face today? Which kids will we watch die, knowing it's our fault? I resist the urge to take Lily's hand. I don't want to do it in front of the cameras. What if the Capitol takes her away from me? She sits in the chair next to me, twisting her hands nervously. We just said our good byes to Aella and Nicholas, promising to see them in a few weeks time.

Gloss takes the seat next to me, and Cashmere sits beside Lily. The crowd is milling around, though they're not making much noise.

Gloss looks at me and is about to say something, but our escort climbs onto the stage. "Good morning, District One!" he says. Everyone claps politely, but it's not excited clapping. What is there to be excited about? He looks undeterred. He beams at the crowd, then, wasting no time, walks to the boy's ball and reaches his hand in. He swirls it around for a painfully long time, grabbing slips but dropping them back in. Finally, after what feels like hours, he pulls his hand out.

"Leo Fennell," he reads.

At first, I don't even feel anything. Leo is halfway up the aisle, the sun glinting off his red hair, before I feel the first pang of fear. He's only twelve. He's just a kid. We're all just kids. There's still a chance that someone will volunteer. Leo is making his way up the aisle, looking at the ground. I can't see his face, though I'm sure it matches the horror on mine. Leo is halfway up the stairs to the stage when I hear it.

"I volunteer!" I watch the screen and see Antonius fighting his way out of the throng of kids in the fifteen year old section. "I volunteer!" he reapeats. His voice waivers, but only for a second.

Leo is staring blankly at him. Antonius climbs the stairs, stopping halfway up to put his hands on Leo's shoulders and whisper something to him. He ruffles Leo's hair, then climbs onto the stage. He doesn't look scared at all, but I'm sure he must be.

Leo is standing at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at the stage. His green eyes are wide, filled with terror. A peacekeeper puts his arm on his shoulder and guides him back through the crowd. Our escort is still talking with Antonius, but he's busy watching Leo being escorted away. They disappear through a door at the side of the Town Hall. My hands are shaking. Antonius is strong. Maybe he can win. If he dies though, it's my fault. It'll all be my fault.

Our escort crosses to the girl's ball. This time, he pulls the slip out quickly, right off the top of the pile.

"Aella Ryhmer," he calls, scanning the crowd. "Where are you, sweetie?"

My ears are ringing. The sun seems to scorch the top of my head and the back of my neck. This can't be happening. I look up to the screens mounted above the stage. I can see Aella making her way out of the fifteen year old section. I can't see any emotion on her face. She reaches the stage in no time, making her way up the stairs and squinting in the sun. I can see her legs shaking, but just barely.

Lily looks at me. I can see fear in her eyes. Fear is all I can see in anyone's eyes today. I just stare back at her. What can I possibly say to reassure her?

Aella is at the microphone now. "It can't be," our escort is saying. "Do we have a sibling of a Victor here?" His wide eyes indicate surprise, but his flat voice suggests otherwise.

"Yes," Aella says. It's barely a whisper.

All I can do is stare in complete terror. Somewhere from the right hand side of the crowd, I can hear a voice.

"... volunteer."

I turn around, straining to see. The cameras find the face of a young girl, who is stepping out of the twelve year old section. What is she playing at? She's not a Career.

She steps towards the stage. Aella is staring at her.

"Looks like we have a volunteer!" our escort chirps. "What's your name, honey?"

"Calliope Pero," she says. She's small, with blonde hair and dark eyes. Our escort thanks her for volunteering, then leads her and Antonius into the Town Hall.

Aella is still standing on the stage. A peacekeeper takes her by the arm and escorts her down the stairs, passing the box where we sit. Lily stands up and climbs over the velvet rope that seperates us from the aisle. The peacekeeper hesistates. He's supposed to take her back to her section. He allows Lily to hug her, smooth her hair back, and say something to her. He then takes her arm again, leading her away. The shock is still registering on her face as she turns around again to look at Lily.

I can see the mayor beckoning for Lily and I. Lily's craning her neck, probably trying to make sure that Aella is all right. Cashmere stands up. "We'll see you two in a few weeks," she says, looking between us. Her and Gloss aren't allowed to come. Each District is allowed two mentors. Her and Gloss have been doing it since she won, before that it was Agatha on her own. The Capitol requires that the year after a District has a new Victor, that Victor must be the one to mentor for at least one year. Seeing as Lily and I won at the same time, we both have to go. It's not really fair, seeing as we don't have an experienced mentor to help, but no one says anything. Since when has anything been fair?

Both her and Gloss have already given us instructions and advice, so there's really not much to say. They exchange a glance. "There's something you two need to know," Gloss begins, looking at us seriously. The twinkle that I see in his eyes when he jokes around on the porch during dinner is gone. The train, parked a hundred feet away, lets off a long shrill whistle, indicating it's time for us to board. "President Snow, he -" Another whistle cuts his voice off. The mayor appears, beckoning Lily and I to follow. Gloss looks at Cashmere again.

"Don't worry," she says, but the worry in her eyes doesn't make her words all that reassuring. They both wish us luck as another whistle echoes off the buildings surrounding us. Their words are empty, and we all know it. They've lost kids. We're going to lose at least one kid. Since when has luck ever been involved in any of our lives? We're alive, sure, but our reward is nothing to be desired by anyone. I follow Lily to the waiting train with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. What were they going to tell us?

**Lily**

I follow the mayor to the train, climbing aboard. Marvel is right behind me. He stands beside me as Calliope and Antonius make their way through the sea of people and climb on.

I can see the change on their faces the second the doors slide closed. Antonius looks like he's about to collapse, and Calliope's eyes fill with tears.

We stand in the entrace hall for a moment, completely silent. Marvel quietly suggests we sit down, and I follow him into the living room. This time, it's easier to walk while the train is moving.

I sit beside Marvel on the couch. Calliope and Antonius, who haven't talked as far as I know, sit on the chairs.

There's nothing but silence. There's really nothing for us to say to them. I imagine the things I could say. _Congratulations, you're probably going to be dead in three weeks! _or maybe _I would talk to you, but then I might be sad when you die._

Antonius is looking really pale. "I'm so sorry, guys," Marvel tells them. Calliope looks up. Her eyes search Marvel's face, though for what, I'm not sure. He gives her a reassuring smile. "Have you ever trained before?" he asks her.

She shakes her head shyly. "No," she says, then, "I don't really know anything that would help me." She looks back down at her lap.

Marvel doesn't question her motives for volunteering. "Lily and I," he gestures towards me. "We're going to try our best to help you, then." He turns to Antonius. "I'm sorry about Leo," he says. "That was really brave. What you did was brave too, Calliope."

"I learned from the best," Antonius says, smiling. I've got to admire him. He's still upbeat, despite the situation on hand.

Marvel grins at him. Even Calliope smiles. She must be so scared. I remember how I felt when I first rode this train.

I sit up. Both Calliope and Antonius are handling this better than I am, and I'm not the one headed for the arena. I smile at Calliope, and she smiles back.

We talk for a while, though it has nothing to do with the Games. Calliope and Antonius are both very nice. They can't seem to look each other in the eye. I don't blame them.

An avox brings dinner into the living room, and we eat there. When it's dark outside, Calliope stands up, saying she wants to go to sleep. I offer to show her her room. Marvel stays with Antonius. She follows me in silence through the train. I stop at the door to her room. "Thank you," she says politely.

"No problem," I say. I look at her. "Thank you so much for volunteering for my sister. I'll never be able to repay you. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she says. "I'll see you in the morning."

I nod and walk back towards the living room. Marvel is sitting alone on the couch, his head in his hands. I sit beside him. "Where's Antonius?"

"He went to bed," he says, his voice muffled by his hands.

I reach over and gently pull his hands away so that I can see him. "I'm sorry about Antonius," I say. It's hard enough for me, I can't even imagine how Marvel must be feeling. He's trained with Antonius for years.

"It's not your fault," he says. I can see the sadness in his eyes.

"Let's go to bed," I say, and Marvel agrees. We make our way to the room we stayed in last time.

I lie awake for a long time, listening to Marvel's heartbeat. Eventually I drift into sleep.

I wake up screaming. Marvel is shaking my shoulders. I try to get a grip on reality. My heart is racing, and tears stain my cheeks. He gathers me into his arms. "It's alright, you're fine, we're safe now."

"I'm so sorry," I say, my voice shaking.

"It's fine. Do you want to talk about it?"

I shake my head. I know he doesn't mind, but I always feel bad waking him up.

"I'm going to go get a glass of water," I tell him, wiping a hand across my cheek.

"Do you want me to come?" he asks.

"No, it's fine, you can go back to sleep." I slide open the door to our room, and walk down the hall. I pass Antonius' room, and am almost past Calliope's room when I hear a sob. I stop, listening. I hear it again. Should I knock on her door? Maybe she wants to talk about it. On second thought, maybe she wouldn't want to know that I heard. The sobbing quiets, but I can still hear it. I tap lightly on the door.

"Calliope? Are you alright?" The crying stops for a minute. I'm about to walk away when the door opens.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"Don't apologize," I say, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "I'm going for a glass of water, do you want one?"

She nods. "That'd be nice." I walk down the hall towards the kitchen, and she follows.

An avox appears out of his room, but I tell him we're fine. I walk to the sink and pour a glass of water for Calliope, then one for myself. I sit down at the huge table. She sits down too, after a moment of hesitation.

"You all right now?" I ask her.

"Yeah, thanks. I didn't wake you up, did I?"

"No, I couldn't sleep," I tell her.

We sit in silence for a moment. "Why did you volunteer for my sister?"

She spins her glass around. "I figured your family had had their names pulled from the Reaping ball enough," she says. "I know you don't have it easy." She must know about my parents. Who doesn't? Almost everyone lost someone in that earthquake. Nicholas, Aella and I are far from the only orphans in the District, thanks to that.

"I thought it was really brave," I tell her. "You should try to work that into your interview. The audience likes things like that."

"What's the point? I'm not coming out. We both know it." She doesn't sound bitter, not even scared. She says is casually, with the same tone you'd use to inform someone that you'd hung the laundry out to dry.

"We're going to do our best to get you out," I tell her.

"Thanks," she says. After a moment, she stops fidgeting with her glass. "You're not going to tell the Capitol this, are you?"

I'm confused. "Tell them what?"

"About me crying and all that."

"Of course not," I promise her.

"It must be so hard. You and Marvel are both so strong. I don't know how you don't lose it."

I stare at the table. "I do lose it," I say quietly. "I wake up screaming six nights a week. Sometimes even Marvel can't calm me down."

Calliope stares at me, probably seeing me in a new light. Seeing how weak I really am. "I'm sorry," she says.

"Don't worry about it." We're both silent for a moment. "I must sound so weak," I say, more to myself than her.

She looks up from her glass. "It doesn't mean you're weak," she tells me. "It means you can feel pain. That's what makes you different from the people in the Capitol." She pushes back her chair and stands up. "I'm going to try to get a bit more sleep."

"All right," I answer as she pushes open the door. "Wait," I say, and she turns back around. "Thank you," I repeat. "Thank you so much."

She smiles sadly at me. "Don't worry about it." She disappears down the hall. Of course I'm going to worry about it. I owe her something, something irreplaceable. Something I can never repay her for.

I had no idea that was the reason she volunteered. Almost everyone lost someone in that earthquake. She didn't owe me anything, yet she still volunteered. She's earned a lot of my respect. She must be so brave. I mull over my thoughts as I make my way back to my room. I slide open the door and put my legs under the blanket.

"You all right?" Marvel asks. He's half asleep.

"Yeah," I tell him. He opens his arms, and I lay my head on his chest. I dream once again, but this time I don't wake up screaming.

When our alarm rings in the morning, the sun hasn't risen over the horizon. The train isn't moving. I guess we've arrived in the Capitol. I follow Marvel down the hall, dropping onto the couch beside him. An avox brings a plate of muffins and leaves them on the table beside the couch. Neither of us touch them.

Marvel sits with his head in his hands, not talking. He's probably thinking about what we're about to face. Antonius walks in a few minutes later, hesitating at the door.

"Sorry," he says. "I didn't realize you guys were talking, I'll come back in a few -"

"It's fine," I say. "We're done." We weren't talking anyway.

He looks at Marvel in concern. He mouths the words "is he all right?" and gestures at Marvel. I nod, though I'm not entirely sure. He sits in a chair across from us.

"How'd you sleep?" I ask him.

"Pretty good," he says. "I swear I heard someone scream, but I think I was dreaming."

I don't say anything to that. Marvel finally lifts his head.

"Hey," he says to Antonius.

We talk for a while, and the way that Marvel talks to Antonius breaks my heart. I can tell that he cares about him.

Eventually I know that we need to talk about the Games. "Do you want to train with Calliope?" I ask Antonius.

"Sure," he says. "I don't see why not."

I nod. "Are you planning on allying with the Careers?"

He shrugs. "Is that a good plan?"

I look at Marvel. "What do you think?"

He looks back at me. "Considering our past experience with the Careers, I think it's a good plan. At least for the beginning. Make sure you leave before they kill you, like we did."

Antonius nods. "What about Calliope?"

"Do you want to ally with her?" Marvel asks.

"I'm not sure," he says, looking stricken. "I can trust her, but I don't want to end up watching her die." He pauses for a second. "Or killing her."

"You can wait and see about your scores," I say, and he agrees.

The sun crests the horizon, and Calliope comes out of her room. We leave the train in a group, headed up to the apartment.

The training starts tomorrow, so we have a day to kill. We watch the Reapings. None of the tributes really stick out to me, but I know not to judge them based on their Reapings. Two looks strong, as usual.

Calliope and Antonius are taken away to be prepped for training, and I'm left alone with Marvel. "Do you want to go up to the greenhouse?" he asks me. Last year, after our Games, we found a room just below the roof. The ceiling is glass, and hundreds of plants and trees are inside. There's even a small pond, filled with colourful fish unlike anything we have back home. It was beautiful.

"Sounds good," I say, and follow him to the elevator.

We spend the afternoon in the greenhouse, just as we have before. I can tell that Marvel's mind is elsewhere. I can't blame him. We end up bringing our food up, and we sit on the ground, looking at the fish darting around the pond. My hair sticks to the back of my neck from the humidity. It's quiet, except for the sound of the water lapping on the sides of the pond.

"I'm sorry," I tell him. "About Antonius."

"It's not your fault." We seem to say that to each other a lot.

"I think we have a good chance of getting him out," I say.

"And what about Calliope? One of them has to die, Lily. I don't know if I can handle it."

"I know," I say. How do Gloss and Cashmere handle this, year after year?

We spend a while in silence, both of us lost in thought. Eventually Marvel turns to me. "Should we head back down?"

"Yeah," I say. Calliope and Antonius are probably almost done. When we walk into the living room a few minutes later, they're both there, watching old Hunger Games on the television. Antonius turns around when we walk in. It looks like he's had a haircut, though it did nothing to tame his hair, which is still shaggy. I look at the television. It's the Second Quarter Quell, the year that Haymitch Abernathy won.

"How was your day?" Marvel asks, sitting down in a chair.

"Fine," Calliope answers.

"What she said," Antonius says.

"Are you ready for training?" I ask.

Calliope looks between Marvel and I. "What should I do?" she asks.

I look at Marvel. "Go to the survival stations," I say.

He nods. "And try some basic weapons. Knives are good," he says. "They're usually on the outer rings of the Cornucopia, so you don't have to be involved in the bloodbath."

"Okay," she says. "I'll do that, then."

We sit in silence for a few minutes. The television keeps playing without volume. I watch as Haymitch is pronounced Victor. His intestines are hanging out as he is lifted into the hovercraft. I look away.

"Are there any other years you want to watch?" Marvel asks. The tape ends with a click.

Neither of them answer, but they exchange a brief glance. Antonius looks at us shyly. "Could we watch your year?" he asks. "I understand if you don't want to," he adds quickly.

"Of course," Marvel says, standing up and looking through the bin of tapes beside the television. I can see his hands shaking. The bin contains a tape of every Hunger Games. He pulls out the one labelled with a 73.

He sticks the tape into the player and it begins rolling. I can see an aerial view of all the tributes. Marvel sits back down beside me. Since I was inside the Cornucopia, I don't have to watch what I did, and I'm grateful. Doing it is hard enough. Watching is just as bad.

He stops fast-forwarding when we get to the first day of hunting with the Careers. I watch myself scale the tree. Marvel's hands are still shaking. I take both of his hands in mine. I manage to watch without closing my eyes, until it gets to the part where Marvel and I guard.

"Let's light a fire," I hear him say. "They know we're here anyway." I can almost feel the cold wind, my frozen fingers.

When I hear Camilla scream a few minutes later, I put my head in my lap and cover my ears. I remember the ring of blood around her head. It was like a halo. I can hear her screaming, hear her struggling to talk to Ajax. His futile efforts to comfot her. I keep my head down. I can't watch this. Marvel pauses the tape, but I keep my head down. She was just a kid. An enemy sure, but also a kid.

There's silence, and Camilla's scream seems to ring louder in my ears. Marvel puts his arm around my shoulders.

"We're safe now. Everything will be alright," he says quietly.

I keep my head in my lap, refusing to move it. I keep my hands firmly planted over my ears, trying to block out the screaming that seems to ring in my head. It's not just Camilla now, but Aella, Marvel, Thalia, Hugo, Nicholas. My mother as the roof of her jewelry shop caved in. My father as he struggled to pull her from the wreckage. The boy from Five. I remember his scream clearest of all. I squeeze my hands over my ears even tighter. Marvel takes my hand. "Let's go," he says gently, but I don't move. He crouches in front of the couch, so that he's level with my head.

"You need to stand up," he says gently.

"It's not fair," is all I say in response.

"I know," he says.

I lift my head slowly, looking into his eyes. He takes my hand and leads me from the room. I can't stop shaking. I make it to the bed before I collapse, tears pouring down my face.

He just sits with me, stroking my hair and rubbing my back, telling me that everyone is safe now. He tucks me into bed, saying he has to go finish watching the tapes with Calliope and Antonius.

"You can't go alone," I say. I'm a coward for making him go.

"It's fine," he answers. "Go to sleep."

**Marvel**

I pull the blanket up to Lily's chin and brush her hair out of her eyes. She needs to sleep. I know she's exhausted, though she'd never admit it. I head back to the living room, sitting on a chair. Antonius and Calliope are both silent. "I'm sorry about that, guys. Which one do you want to watch?"

Neither of them answers. The tape, our tape, is still paused. I can see myself following Ajax through the forest. "How about we finish this one?"

Calliope nods. "Sure," she says, after a second of hesitation. "Only if you want to."

I don't want to. Not at all. Not without Lily. I can't make her watch this, though. "Of couse," I say.

I push the play button with shaking hands. I fastforward through most of it, pausing when Antonius or Calliope asks. We didn't really do anything that they can't learn in the Training Centre. When it comes to the part where we cross the river, Calliope turns to me. "Is it important that I know how to swim?"

I bite my lip, thinking. "I don't think so," I say. "It all depends on the arena. Can you swim at all?"

"Not really," she says. "I swam in a pool once, but that was it."

"That was the same with Lily," I say, then realize I shouldn't have said that. She nearly drowned. "You can probably avoid the water, if there is any," I add quickly. "If there's no current, you'd be fine anyway."

She nods, and I continue with the tape. We fight the boy from seven. I look away as I throw my spear. A cannon fires and it takes all my strength to drag my eyes back to the screen. We continue walking, unable to find the tent. I watch our struggle to climb the path up the cliff face, then our night under the small overhang, a couple dozen feet from the top. According to Cashmere, that was the night where they had the poll in the Capitol, asking if they would accept two winners.

We come to the part where Lily leaves to get food. I wish I'd never let her leave. She walks off. Hugo finds her and follows at a distance. As she stops to investigate a plant, he knocks her down, demanding to know where I am.

"I'm not telling you," she says angrily, glaring at him through the blood that fills her eye. I think of the scar she still has from that. He threatens her, but she's not giving in. The speaker crackles and I hear the announcement. She laughs, then Hugo stabs her. The camera cuts to me, sprinting through the forest towards her. I make it with less than a second to spare, killing the cougar and running to her. I try and fail to staunch the flow of blood. I remember everything about that moment. Her pale face. My shaking hands. My reassurance that she'd be alright, when in my head I was positive she was going to die. I stand up before I know what I'm doing.

"I just need a second," I say. I turn and walk from the room, not sure where I'm going. I end up in the kitchen. I put my palms on the cool granite of the counter, lowering my head and trying to steady my breathing. It's all over. It's done. Lily's safe. I'm safe. I think of Cashmere and Gloss. They're alive, but for what? I'm alive for Lily. She's the reason I have to keep going. I have to get one of our tributes out. I owe them that much. My heart is still racing, but I straighten up. The tape is playing in the living room. I'm glad that they kept playing it without me. I don't think I can watch anymore. I head to the room that Lily and I share, pushing open the door quietly. It's still hard for me to believe that we're both safe, that the Capitol can't hurt us physically, only emotionally. Lily lies on her side, her hair in her eyes. She's breathing evenly. I walk over, brushing one of the curls out of her eyes and pulling the blanket up. I kiss her head, then walk from the room, closing the door silently behind me.

I walk back slowly to the living room, hoping that they're done with our Games. Calliope is standing up as I enter the room, and Antonius is digging through the box of tapes.

"I'm going to bed," Calliope says.

I nod. "I'm sorry about that," I say.

"Don't worry about it," she says, and I can tell she means it.

I turn to Antonius. "Should we watch another tape?"

"Alright," he says. "You can pick."

I stand up and walk over to the box beside the television. I grab the first tape I find. It's labelled with a 21.

I put the tape in the slot and sit back down beside Antonius.

**AN:** **I hope you enjoyed this! It's going to get more interesting soon. For those of you wanting some fluff, it's coming, though not for a few chapters. It's hard to have romance while they're mentoring. Once they're back in District One, though, I'll go crazy with the fluff. **


	14. Untitled

**Lily**

I'm not sure if I fell asleep after Marvel left or not. I eventually conclude that I must have, since it's so dark outside. I feel guilty for making Marvel watch the tape on his own. I feel like a coward. I am a coward. I swing my legs out of bed, heading for the living room. I stand behind the couch, putting my hands on the cool leather and glancing at the screen. I can see a girl crouched beside the body of a boy, his chest covered in blood. She's crying, clutching his hand, but I can tell that he's long gone.

Marvel looks at me over his shoulder. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes," I say, sitting down beside him. "What are you guys talking about?"

"I'm just explaining to Antonius about allying with the Careers. They're pretty dangerous," he continues. "They're probably going to be expecting you to leave, like Lily and I did last year. I doubt they'll let you out of their sight."

Antonius nods. "How will I know when to leave?"

Marvel looks at me. "I'm not sure," he says. "I guess whenever you have a good picking of supplies. If that doesn't happen, just put as much distance as you can between yourself and them."

Antonius nods to Marvel, then turns to me. "Are you al lright?" he asks. "I'm sorry about asking to watch your Games."

"It's fine," I say. "It's not your fault. I should've stayed. I'm sure Marvel gave you lots of advice."

He nods. "Don't worry about it. He told us lots of stuff."

"That's good," I say. He thanks us again, then heads to bed.

Marvel puts his head in his hands, which he seems to spend a lot of time doing. "I'm so sorry for leaving," I say.

"Don't be," he replies, his voice muffled. He takes his head out of his hands and looks at me. I can see dark circles under his eyes. I put my arm around him, resting my head on his shoulder. I think about how he hardly sleeps, and spends all hours of the night wandering around, trying to deal with the horrible memories from the arena. We sit like that for a long time. Eventually my eyes slide closed.

I wake up on the couch, my head on Marvel's chest. I can't hear talking in the other room. I sit up, rubbing sleep from my eyes. I stand up quietly, allowing Marvel to continue sleeping. I sit down at the empty table. After a few minutes, Antonius sits across from me. An avox brings us each a plate of food. I'm not hungry. Antonius eats his, then grins at me, gesturing at my plate. "Are you gonna eat that?"

I smile back at him. "Go ahead," I say, sliding it across the table to him. I haven't seen him smile like that since the Training Centre back home. It's nice to see, but hard to know what awaits him. He's half done the plate when Calliope sits down. Marvel joins us a few minutes later.

"I'm sorry about last night," I say to Antonius and Calliope.

"I understand," Calliope says. "I can't even imagine."

I smile at her. She's not eating much. Between us, Marvel and I manage to get her to eat. They go down to training soon after. "Try to talk to people," I tell them as the elevator doors slide closed. I slump back in my chair. It's only three days until the Games. Marvel's about to sit beside me when the elevator whirs. I turn around, curious as to who it could be. An avox steps out, handing an envelope to Marvel, then steps back into the elevator.

He walks back to the table, tearing open the envelope. He scans it, then looks up at me. "It's for the interview," he says.

My heart skips a beat. Each year, when the most recent Victor is back in the Capitol for mentoring, they have to do an interview. Mostly they just talk about their tributes, about how their life has been since winning the Games, things like that. It's not always pleasant to watch. Some of the Victors waste away, even after just a year.

I exchange a glance with Marvel. He sighs and slumps back against the back of his chair, looking exhausted.

"When?" I ask.

"Later today," he answers, looking at his watch. "Just over two hours."

"Okay," I say. "We'll be fine." I'm trying to reassure myself just as much as I'm trying to reassure Marvel.

Alerio, my stylist, comes up the elevator soon after to prepare me for the interview. I don't pay much attention. All I can think about is Calliope and Antonius. I wonder how training is going. Will the Careers even want Antonius? He doesn't look strong on the outside, but he's obviously brave, and he's a dead shot with throwing knives. Marvel warned him not to show his skills until his private session. I'm sure he'll listen. He always listens when we tell him things in the training centre.

Alerio keeps the small talk going as he does my hair, commenting on this or that, joking about my untamable curls. I'm finding it hard to talk. I'm too worried about Antonius and Calliope.

He puts a final bobby pin in my hair and steps back to admire his work. My hair is the straightest it's ever been, though it's still wavy, and he's done something different with my bangs. He leaves me to change into my dress.

It's simple and pretty, mint green with a pleated waist and a bow around my hips. I pull it over my head and instantly realize how short it is. It's barely five inches down my thighs. Did Alerio measure wrong? I step outside into the hall to show him.

He claps his hands together, walking around me. "You look beautiful," he says.

"Thanks," I say. Does he not realize how short it is? What is he doing? I tug on the hem, trying to pull it down a bit, but he swats my hand.

"You're going to rip the fabric," he scolds. I just stare at him.

He walks with me down the hall. He wishes me luck, hands me my shoes, and disappears into the elevator. When I arrive in the living room, Marvel is sitting on the couch, staring at the floor.

"Ready?" I ask him. His mouth drops open at the sight of my dress. "Eyes up, Marvel," I say jokingly, trying to find some humour in the situation. "I don't think Alerio knows how to measure."

Marvel smiles a little bit, then stands up. He runs a strand of my hair through his fingers. "How did he get this to be so straight?"

"I'm not sure," I say, shrugging and turning towards the elevator. "It was quite a battle, though."

"I miss the curls," he says. I smile at him, stepping into the elevator. He follows suit. I wait until the doors slide closed, but don't press the button. "Are you all right?" I ask him, even though I know the answer.

He nods. "I'm just worried about Antonius."

"I know," I say. "We'll do everything we can to get him out."

"I'll never forgive myself if he dies," Marvel says. "What about Leo?"

"We can take care of Leo," I say, but I know that's not the answer he wants. He reaches across me and presses the button. The elevator begins its descent. I slip on my shoes.

An avox awaits us at the main floor, and I take Marvel's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. I hate seeing him fall apart like this. It just shows me how much the arena has changed both of us. How much the Capitol controls us.

We're left backstage. Marvel sits down on a bench, probably to try and compose himself. I don't feel nervous this time. I'm not trying for allies.

The doors swing open, revealing the stage. I walk beside Marvel to Caesar, waving at the audience and hating them for standing by while innocent kids die year after year. I sit beside Marvel on the couch, aware of the fact that I'm showing far more of my leg than I would like to the audience. I try to subtly pull the dress down a bit. Once again, my efforts are futile.

"Back by popular demand!" he says. His hair is green this year. He looks ridiculous. "It's so good to see you guys again!"

"Good to see you too," Marvel says.

"So," Caesar says, leaning forward. "How does it feel to be back?"

"Great," I say. It sounds like someone else is talking, as if my voice isn't mine. "I couldn't wait to come back." I try to inject enthusiasm into my voice.

Caesar smiles. "This must've been quite the year for you," he says. "Winning the Hunger Games, turning eighteen, mentoring for the first time."

"It's been a crazy year," I agree.

"That was some Reaping," Caesar continues. "How did you feel when Aella was Reaped?"

"I've never felt anything like that," I say. "It was complete shock. I didn't even have time to be scared before Calliope volunteered."

He turns to Marvel. "How about you, Marvel? Were you scared for Aella?"

"Absolutely," he says. He gestures to me. "She's been through enough, without mentoring her own sister." I wince. He shouldn't be saying things like that. I know that he's angry, but he's just going to make things worse. Victors should never complain to the Capitol.

I'm pretty sure that Caesar looks unsettled for a moment, but it passes before I can be sure. "How do you feel about the tributes? Do you think you have a chance of bringing one home?"

I stare at him. He talks about them as if they're objects, not people. As if they're something you'd bring home from game night, a prize of sorts. I try to wipe the disgust off my face.

"Calliope's one of the smallest we've seen in a while," Caesar continues. "She reminds me of the boy from Five, from your Games. He was small, and look what happened to him."

His scream pierces my eardrums. I can hear the echoes of it inside the Cornucopia. I can hear the massacre outside. I turned away. I killed a boy, and I turned away. I didn't even say anything. I killed a child. I can feel the knife in my hands. I remember pulling it out. The scream seemed to go on forever.

I hunch forward, squeezing my eyes shut and willing the screaming to stop. This can't be happening. He's dead. I killed him. I killed an unarmed child. I don't deserve to be sitting here. I deserve to be dead. I've killed so many people. I've failed so many people. Surely I'm going to fail either Antonius or Calliope, most likely both. I see Thalia. I can hear her scream, see her body moving, falling off the side of the Cornucopia. So many dead. So many.

My ears are ringing. Marvel is kneeling in front of me. He's apologizing to Caesar, but I only catch one word. _Flashback._ I can see him saying something to me, but all I can hear is the boy's scream.

"I'm here," Marvel is saying quietly. "We're safe. Everything is alright. Your family's safe. You're safe."

I struggle to hear over the scream, which is ringing in my ears. I look up. Marvel's green eyes are full of worry. I stare at him for a second, my nails digging into the palms of my hands.

"I killed him," I say.

Marvel doesn't have anything to say to that. Caesar is staring at me, looking shocked. The audience is silent.

"I'm so sorry," Marvel says to Caesar, still kneeling in front of me. He keeps his hand on my arm, looking over his shoulder to address Caesar. "She's just nervous."

"It's fine," Caesar says, looking concerned. He has no idea about the nightmares. About how I feel about winning. About how I can't sleep unless Marvel is nearby. He stands up, leaving me with Marvel, and walks to the front of the stage. He keeps talking to the audience.

Marvel is looking at me, whispering something I can't hear. I put my head back down. The Games are in two days. Both Calliope and Antonius could be dead in two days. Both of them are so brave. I owe so much to Calliope. How will I ever repay her for volunteering for Aella? I've failed so many people. The screaming has stopped, but the memories are still there.

Marvel pulls my hand again, and this time I let him take it. "Can you stand?" he asks.

I don't answer, but stand up slowly. I feel wobbly, and he supports some of my weight. He thanks Caesar, then escorts me off the stage. He clutches my hand, and I cling to him. The elevator ride is quick. The few floors before our appartment pass, blurred by the tears in my eyes.

We arrive at our floor, and I climb out of the elevator, still clutching Marvel's hand.

I head for the living room, but I can see Antonius and Calliope out there. Marvel guides me to our room.

I collapse onto the bed. "I killed him," I say again.

Marvel doesn't answer, just clutches my hand. I lie facedown on the bed. I can feel Marvel shaking. I am too.

"Are you all right?" he asks after a few minutes.

"I think so," I say. "I can't believe that happened. I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize," he says. "It's not your fault. It's their fault, for putting you through that. They should be apologizing to you." A tear drips down his face and I wipe it away with my thumb.

We sit in silence for a long time. Caesar practically said that Calliope wasn't going to make it. As much as it hurts to admit it, he's probably right. If she dies, it'll be my fault. Tears blur my vision, but I don't wipe my eyes.

Eventually Marvel stands up. "I'm going to go see what's going on," he says.

"I'll come," I say. He offers me his hand, pulling me off the bed.

I follow him into the living room, still holding his hand. I don't want to let go anytime soon. Antonius and Calliope stare at me, their expressions unreadable, as we enter the living room. I'm sure they saw the interview.

I sit down on the couch, followed by Marvel. "Are you two alright?" Antonius asks, concern putting a crease between his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Marvel says. I just nod.

We sit quietly for a few minutes. Calliope and Antonius look worried. I lift my head. I don't want them thinking that because of what happened, I'm not going to mentor as well. I look between them. "How was training?" I ask.

"Good," Antonius says.

"What did you do?" I ask him.

"I just practiced with the axe," he says. "I went to some survival stations as well."

"How about you?" I ask Calliope.

"I practiced with knives. I went to survival stations too."

"Good," I say. "How did that go?"

She thinks for a second. "I'm not very good with knives. I can't throw them at all."

I don't have anything to say to that. Antonius stands up, saying he's heading to bed.

After he leaves, I turn back to Calliope. "What did you think about allies?"

"Well..." she looks away. "I thought that the girl from twelve seemed alright."

I try to remember that girl, but can't. "Let's watch the Reapings again," I say, standing up to grab the tape from the bin beside the television. Twelve is first. The boy is well built, but skinny. The girl takes the stage next. I can see a woman crying in the crowd. No one volunteers, which is normally the case in District 12. She's small, but looks healthy. Her name is Sally.

"She's good with the survival stuff," Calliope tells me.

"That's good," I say.

"You two would make a good team," Marvel says.

Calliope looks at him, but doesn't say anything. She stands up, saying she's going to bed as well. I wish her goodnight.

I sit with Marvel, still clutching his hand. "We should go to bed," he says. "We can't be tired tomorrow."

"All right," I say, standing up. I don't let go of his hand, clinging to it as I fall asleep.

**Marvel**

The alarm rings as the sun appears over the horizon, as usual. We have to help prepare Calliope and Antonius for training. They have their private sessions today, then their interviews.

I stretch my arms above my head. Lily rolls her head off my chest, still half asleep. "Did you sleep alright?" she asks. Her voice is groggy.

"Yeah," I say. I always sleep better when she's there.

"We need to make some sort of schedule during the Games. I think one of us should always be watching," she's saying. She swings her legs out of bed and heads for the dresser.

I nod. "That sounds good."

I brush my teeth, then follow Lily to the living room. Calliope and Antonius are both seated, but they're not talking. I take a seat beside Antonius. Lily sits on the couch beside Calliope.

"Ready for training?" I ask.

Calliope nods slowly. Antonius doesn't say anything. "I think we should talk to you guys seperately," Lily says.

Calliope nods. "I'll go wait in my room. You can come get me when you're done." She walks through the doorway and vanishes from sight.

I turn to Antonius. "What are you doing for your private session?"

"I'm not sure," he says. "I was going to use the bow and arrows, an axe, use the rock climbing wall, do some survival stuff. Maybe some knots," he adds. "How did the rock climbing go for you?" he asks Lily.

"It's what got me my score," she answers. "I used some axes, but without rock climbing, my score would've been far worse."

"Okay," he says. "I'll do that then."

"That's a good plan," I say. "What are you thinking about allying with the Careers?"

Antonius stares intently at the table. "I don't think I want to go with them," he says, looking up slowly, as if expecting us to yell at him.

Lily nods, and I do the same. "You guys aren't mad?" Antonius asks.

"Of course not," I say. "We only allied with them for supplies. I never trusted them."

"Me neither," Lily adds. "I think it's a better decision to go on your own. You don't want to ally with Calliope?"

"I don't think so," he says. "I've always worked better on my own."

"Alright," I say. "Just make sure you get some weapons during the bloodbath. You're strong enough to fight. Try to grab an axe or something, so you can fight at close range."

"Okay," Antonius says, looking pale. He pushes his chair back and stands up. "Ideally, I'd like to get my hands on some knives, but I'm not sure that'll happen."

"There are always some knives," I say. "I'm sure they'll be there this year."

"Alright," Antonius says. "Thanks guys, you've been a great help."

I smile at him, and the door swings closed after him. I put my head down on the table. We haven't been a great help. I feel like I've already failed him.

Calliope walks in a few seconds later and sits beside Lily. "What are you going to do for your private session?" I ask her.

"I'm not sure," she says. "Throw some knives, go to the survival stations."

"Okay," Lily says. "That's a good plan. Are you getting better with the knives?"

"I think so," she says. "I can hit the dummy from a good distance, but not necessarily anywhere fatal."

"That's better than nothing," I say, and she nods. "Make sure you talk to Sally about allying," I add.

"I will," she says, then leaves the room. She must be so scared. She's much less talkative than Antonius, but he's always been chatty. Maybe she's not.

Lily and I talk strategy for a while, but we don't really make any decisions. I wish we could ask Gloss and Cashmere for help, but they're really not supposed to be involved too much. I'm sure the telephones lines are bugged, anyway. I don't want someone listening in.

After a quiet lunch, Antonius and Calliope are escorted to the elevator by an avox. "Good luck," I say.

"Thanks," Antonius says. Calliope looks terrified. I can't blame her.

The elevator doors slide closed, and I'm left alone with Lily.

We sit in the living room, waiting for Antonius and Calliope. Since we're the first District, it's not long until the elevator doors slide open and Antonius walks into the apartment. He looks around, as if unsure whether he should come sit with us. Lily gestures him over, dropping my hand, which she's been holding. "How did it go?" she asks.

"I think it went well," Antonius says, but he looks nervous. "I did what you guys said"

"All right," I say. "Did you use the knives and the rock climbing wall?"

He nods. "Good." I say. A little while later, the elevator arrives again, this time carrying Calliope. She walks over and sits in a chair.

"How'd it go?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I'm not sure."

I don't push her for more information. Two hours later, an attendant comes to tell us that we need to turn on the television, because they're showing the scores. Antonius is first, with a score of ten.

I stare at him, my eyes wide. "Ten is amazing!" I say. He looks shocked, as if he had no idea he would get a score that high.

Calliope is up next. I can tell by the way she sits that she's nervous. Her face appears, followed by an eight.

She slumps back in her chair, looking relieved. An eight isn't a good score, but it's not bad either. It's almost a good thing, because that way she won't stick out as a serious opponent, and no one will feel the need to target her.

The Careers from two both get nines. They must not be as strong as usual. Most of the scores are mediocre, though there's one eleven, from the boy from six. Sally, who is last to appear, gets an eight.

We don't have time to talk before Antonius and Calliope are escorted away to prepare for their interviews.

"Their scores are good," Lily says.

I nod. I wish that could guarantee their survival, but it can't. We both know that. Antonius returns to the living room, wearing a green shirt and black pants. He sits across from us on the chair.

"Good job," I tell him again. "That's a really good score."

"Thanks," he says. He doesn't look proud or arrogant, just relieved. I admire him for it. I remember Gloss's words to Lily and I. "Arrogance can kill," he had told us. Camilla's arrogance last year saved Lily's life. I'm sure that arrogance won't be a problem for either Antonius or Calliope.

Calliope comes out a few minutes later in a lavender dress.

"You look nice," Lily tells her.

"Thank you," she says, smiling at her.

An avox escorts them to the elevator. "Just be yourself," I tell them, just as Cashmere told me. It's a weak attempt at comfort, but Antonius seems less nervous. He's not trying to impress the Careers, only sponsors. Hopefully Lily and I will be able to get them both some.

The doors slide closed and I head back to the living room. I sit on the couch beside Lily. The television turns on by itself. Caesar is warming up the audience, his green hair gleaming in the spotlight.

Calliope is first up. She walks slowly onto the stage, looking shy. That's the angle Lily and I encouraged her to go for.

"Welcome!" Caesar says, sitting in his chair. Calliope sits across from him, smoothing her dress down. They've replaced the couch they had for Lily and I with a chair, as usual. They talk for a little while, about the Capitol, the difference from District One, the food, and the apartment. Eventually Caesar steers the talk to the Games.

"You have two very experienced mentors," he says. "Does that make you feel better?" We're not experienced in the area of mentoring. This is our first year. What is he talking about?

"Absolutely," she says. "Both Marvel and Lily are very nice. They're both so brave. Lily and I have had some good conversations. I can relate to her."

"That's so nice," Caesar says. "That was her sister you volunteered for, correct?"

Calliope nods.

"I thought that was very brave," Caesar says, smiling at her. "Why did you choose to volunteer? Did you know Aella before?"

She thinks for a second. "I figured that Lily's family had had their names pulled from the Reaping ball enough already. It's just her and her brother and sister. They need each other." She looks down at her legs, rolling the hem of her dress between her fingers.

Caesar nods. "I think we have a very brave one here," he tells the audience. He compliments her score, and she thanks him. He dismisses her, and she walks off the stage.

I squeeze Lily's hand. Calliope arrives in the elevator as Antonius takes to the stage. He walks with confidence. Confidence I know he doesn't have.

He shakes Caesar's hand, then drops into the chair. They joke around. Antonius' sense of humour makes it easy for him to talk to people.

"That was some score," Caesar tells him, but Antonius shrugs.

"I did what I could," he says modestly, not elaborating on anything.

Caesar doesn't push. "And you're a volunteer," he says. "Just like your District partner!"

"Yeah," Antonius says.

"That was your brother, right? Why did you choose to volunteer for him?"

Antonius looks at his feet. He's acting more like himself now; quiet, shy, modest. "He's the only thing I have left," he says. "I couldn't let him go. He's only thirteen."

"What about your parents?"

He looks away from Caesar. He shouldn't have asked that. It's not fair to bring up something like that. "We lost them in the earthquake," he says.

Caesar looks at him sadly. The audience is silent. Caesar doesn't dwell on this piece of information, just bounces onto the next question. "Do you have any special talents you want to share with us? You must, considering your score."

Antonius has become very quiet. I think talking about home has made it difficult. He shrugs. "You'll see," he says mysteriously, grinning at Caesar. His smile is so geniune that I can hardly picture the boy who left here, looking pale and terrified. I'm glad he can still manage to talk, after the questions about Leo and his parents.

"Did you bond with Marvel and Lily? Calliope seems like she has."

Antonius nods. "I've trained with Marvel since I was nine. Lily's helped as well. They're both very nice. Marvel took care of my brother when he was sick and I had to train. Lily, she taught me everything I know about ropes. Marvel taught me lots of things as well." He stops himself. He shouldn't say anything about the spear, or the axes.

Caesar claps him on the back, and he walks off the stage. I listen for the elevator as the girl from two walks onto the stage. She looks strong, but her score wasn't that impressive. The elevator doors open and Antonius walks out.

"That went well," I tell him honestly as he sits in a chair.

"I guess," he says. Silence follows, and we watch the rest of the interviews. Most of the tributes are very boring, and I tune out, thinking of home.

Are Gloss and Cashmere taking care of Leo? I'm sure they are. Maybe he's even eating at Agatha's house with them and Lily's family. If Antonius dies, will he hate us? I push the thought from my mind as Lily nudges me with her elbow. I focus on the screen. Sally's walking onto the stage. She really is small, at least as small as Calliope.

She sits in the chair, looking nervous. She fidgets with her hands, answering Caesar with one word answers. She's quiet, but I can tell that she's smart. I trust her to ally with Calliope.

She thanks Caesar politely, then leaves the stage. Calliope is looking between Lily and I, trying to see our reactions.

"She seems like a good ally," I say, and Lily nods her agreement. We give them a last minute talk, since tomorrow they're headed for the arena. We can't say much in terms of strategy, since we have no idea what the arena will hold.

Lily and I head to bed soon after. She puts her head on my chest as usual, and I put an arm around her shoulders. We're both awake, but we don't talk. There's enough comfort in just being together.

After at least two hours, her breathing steadies. I stay for a while longer, listening for the telltale signs of a nightmare. Usually she starts shaking, and that's when I wake her up. Sometimes, if I'm asleep, I don't notice, and it's not until she starts screaming that I wake up. I feel awful when that happens. I want to be able to get her out of whatever awful event she's reliving as soon as I can.

Eventually I conclude that I can't stay here. I need to go somewhere to think. We hardly even have a plan. I gently take my arm from around Lily. She was using it as a pillow, and she stirs as I take it away. I stand up, pulling the blankets up to her shoulders. I feel bad for leaving, but I really need to think. I won't go far, in case she wakes up. I open the door.

"Where are you going?"

I turn back around. Lily's sitting up, rubbing her eyes. Her voice is groggy. I head back to the bed. "I just need to think," I say. "Do you want me to stay?"

"It's all right," she says.

I pull the blanket up for her again. "Go back to sleep," I say. "You need your rest."

"I can't," is her answer. She sits back up again.

I think for a second. If she says she can't fall back asleep, she's probably right. I offer her my hand. "Let's go up to the greenhouse."

She follows me to the staircase. The elevators are shut down at night to prevent the tributes wandering around, but I found a staircase last year, during one of my late night wandering sessions.

We climb, flight after flight. My legs burn, but I enjoy the pain. It's a distraction from my thoughts.

By the time we arrive in the greenhouse, my legs feel like liquid. I hold the door open for Lily, then follow her inside. She heads straight for the pond, to the stone bench that's our usual spot. It's dark inside, reminding me unpleasantly of our arena. The humidity suggests otherwise, but I still feel like every shrub is a crouching tribute.

The plants don't seem to be in any particular order, and the ground is dirt. A stone path allows us to walk around. Plants and trees grow in every direction, creating a leafy canopy over our heads and muffling our footsteps. I feel like I'm in a different world. Not even the bright lights of the Capitol can penetrate the leaves.

Lily sits down on the bench. I sit beside her, taking her hand and staring at the dark water. I can't see the fish.

We sit in silence, enjoying the quiet. "How are we going to handle this?" I ask her.

"We handled an arena. We handle the nightmares. We can handle this." Her voice sounds detached. She looks at the pond, at the water gently lapping up the sides, then turns to me, her brown eyes searching my green ones. I look back at her, unsure of what to say. There's nothing I can say, so I brush a piece of her hair back and tuck it behind her ear. We keep looking at each other. Even though we're not talking, I feel better being here with her. I'm so lost in my thoughts and her eyes that when she leans towards me and presses her lips to mine, I'm surprised. I close my eyes and pull her closer. She wraps her arms around my neck and I bury my hand in her hair, keeping the other one on her waist.

We had our first kiss a long time ago, the fall after we got back from the Games. It was under the maple tree, at dusk. I remember that moment perfectly.

For a few seconds, a few, blissful seconds, I forget about everything. Mentoring. The Capitol. Whatever Gloss was trying to tell us. Sponsors. For a few seconds, it's just Lily and I and no one else.

When she pulls away and looks at me, sadness in her eyes but a small smile on her lips, I realize that maybe luck really does play a part in my life after all.


	15. Bloodbath

**Beloved Readers and (hopefully) Graphic Makers,**

**When I first made this account, I didn't know what to use as the picture for this story, so I picked the cliff picture, thinking of Marvel and Lily's arena. I've recently decided that this picture isn't really that fitting, since the story continues beyond their arena, and that this story is in serious need of a new graphic/cover image. Are there any readers who would be up to the challenge? I'm not sure how I would... compensate you for it, I was hoping you'd do it just because you like making graphics! I could use your name or a character you invent in the story! Leave something in the reviews or message me on tumblr (thebloodbath) if you're interested, and we can collaborate. Enjoy, and thank you so much for reading! **

**Lily**

Eventually, Marvel and I need to go to bed. I wish we didn't have to, that we could stay in the greenhouse forever, but that's obviously not an option. We make the trip back down to the silent appartment, then crawl into bed.

It seems like no time has passed when our alarm rings before dawn. I've only had four hours of sleep. Marvel's had even less.

I crawl out of bed, stepping into the hall and taking a cup of coffee when an avox offers it to me. I don't usually drink it, but today I need it. Antonius comes out of his room next, and Calliope comes out soon after. We sit down to have breakfast. I don't eat anything. Calliope and Antonius don't want to eat either, but between us, Marvel and I manage to get them to eat. I pour them glass after glass of water, then tell them to drink on the hovercraft as well. The arena must be far, if they need to leave this early.

The elevator doors open, and an attendant steps out. "The hovercraft is ready," he tells us. "Please come down as soon as you can." He vanishes once again.

Calliope looks at me, pure panic in her eyes. I don't know what to say to her. Marvel is talking to Antonius, probably trying to comfort him.

Calliope is sitting at the table, looking pale. "It's going to be fine," I tell her. She knows as well as I do that it's false hope. The attendant comes back, ushering Calliope and Antonius into the elevator. I hug Calliope, then kneel down so I can look into her eyes. "Be brave," I tell her. "I know you are, and now is the most important time to act on it." Some of the panic seems to leave her eyes.

"Thank you," she says.

"You're welcome," I say, standing up. "Just remember that in the arena."

She nods and I turn to Antonius. "You're not going down without a fight," I say. "You're fighting for Leo." His eyes well with tears.

"Can you tell Leo that I'm sorry?" He takes a deep breath. "And please, make sure he doesn't have to train."

I nod. "We will," I tell him. "I promise. We'll take care of him."

"Thank you," he whispers. He hugs me, then Marvel. The elevator swallows them.

Marvel turns and sits on the couch. I sit beside him. "Are you all right?" he asks me.

I nod. "I'm fine. Are you?" He must see the tears in my eyes, because he pulls me into a hug. I bury my head in his shoulder.

"You know me," he says, "I'm always fine." It's a joke, but his voice is sad. "We're going to do fine."

I just shake my head. "Only one of them can come home," I say. "If they die, it's my fault. I've failed so many people." My voice breaks, and a sob escapes.

He holds me close, rocking gently back and forth.

"Listen," he says. "I'm not going to lie and tell you this is going to be easy, because it's not. We're both strong. We can get one of them out. I know we can, but we have to try. We need to pull it together. Both of us." He says the words with a plea in his voice. He's scared.

I lift my head. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

"It's not your fault," he says. "I know it's not easy."

I lie down on the couch and after a while, I fall asleep.

Marvel wakes me up when he sits down on the couch, lifting up my legs and putting them on his lap. I'm wrapped in a plaid blanket. Marvel must've put it over me after I feel asleep. I sit up, feeling a crease in my cheek from the couch cushion. "The Games are starting in a few minutes," he says.

I try not to let panic grip me. They could both be dead. Both of them. It'll be my fault.

I sit up, and Marvel wraps his arm around me. I lay my head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about leaving," he says.

I shake my head. "Don't worry," I say. "You're here now."

The television turns itself on a few seconds later. I can feel that Marvel's muscles are tense. I'm shaking.

I clutch Marvel's hand, still wrapped in the blanket, preparing for my first view of the arena. What I see shocks me. It's beautiful. The Cornucopia sits in a sea of white ice. Behind it, the ice merges with blue sea. Facing the mouth of the Cornucopia are several mountains. They're not far, maybe half a mile from the Cornupcopia. They remind me of last year's arena, but I already know that ours wasn't this cold. Something tells me that jumping in the water here would surely kill you. The camera pans around, and I look at the mountains. They're tall, and capped in snow. There are trees on them. Evergreens, I believe, just like the trees in the arena last year. A suspension bridge hangs between two mountain cliffs. It's high up, and the thought of crossing it frightens me, even though I'm not afraid of heights. I can see several more throughout the mountains, but the one is far higher than the other ones.

The camera turns back to the Cornucopia, and the tributes rise around it. They're all dressed in parkas. Their faces are exposed. As the camera lowers, I can see ski goggles spread around the outer rings of supplies. Those are essential, or else tributes are going to be dying of exposure. I size up the weapons. I see knives, ice picks, a spear. All the usual. The knives are sitting right at the mouth. Usually they're on the outer rings. The Gamemakers must want Antonius to fight for them. I wonder if he'll run for it. It's his best chance of survival, but it's dangerous to be involved in the bloodbath, especially without allies. There doesn't seem to be a lot of food, at least that I can see. It's a good thing that both Calliope and Antonius went to the survival stations. The camera pans out, and I count the plates between Antonius and Calliope. Fourteen. Sally stands between them.

The gong rings, and I watch Antonius. He sprints straight for the knives. He's fast, and seems prepared for the slippery ice. We have snow at home, whereas some of the other tributes have probably never seen snow or ice. One of the tributes to his right falls, and the boy from two grabs an axe, bringing it down on her. She screams, and her blood soaks the ice. Antonius has made it to the knives. He grabs them, spinning around. He grabs a backpack, looking around wildly. He clearly doesn't want to fight, only to leave. He seems to remember what Marvel told him, because he grabs an axe. There's no one around him. He grabs two pairs of ski goggles, and an empty water bottle. He's almost out of the centre of action when a girl runs up to him. Blood drips from her nose. She has no weapons. Antonius looks panicked. She runs past him, and he doesn't do anything to stop her.

He passes his plate and sprints towards the mountains. Some other tributes have already begun running for the mountains, and he's near the back of the group. I'm relieved that he got the bow and arrows.

Marvel grabs the remote and rewinds. This time I watch Calliope. She doesn't run far into the bloodbath. She grabs two pairs of ski goggles, a backpack, and four knives, before looking around for Sally. She runs to her, and they start running for the mountains. They're they first people to leave the bloodbath. No one wanted to run into the wilderness with nothing.

By the time Antonius meets up with the girl, Calliope and Sally are already three quarters of the way to the mountain. Huge rocks stand at the base of the mountain they come to. Calliope doubles over to catch her breath, looking for other tributes. No one is near to them. They quickly inventory their supplies. Calliope looks through her backpack. I can't tell what's in it. Sally clutches an axe. I'm not sure whether or not she knows how to kill someone from a distance with it.

"Should we climb?" Calliope asks Sally.

"I think so," she says, and they begin climbing.

Marvel clicks a button on the remote, switching our screen to Antonius. For the mentors watching in the Capitol, you can have constant coverage of both of your tributes, with your choice of which one you want to watch. If one of them is near another tribute, or in a perilous situation, the television automatically switches to them.

Antonius is still running, trying to get away from the bloodbath. I notice that his ring of knives holds only three. That could be a problem, if he can't collect them. More of the tributes are now spreading around the base of the rock that Sally and Calliope climbed, but they've already disappeared into the forest.

Antonius veers to the left, towards a farther mountain. There's forest at the base of it, but it's still about a mile away. He slows his pace a bit, preparing to run the whole way.

The bloodbath is ending as the camera moves back towards the Cornucopia. Tributes lie dead, the ice around their bodies is tinged with red. Both of the Careers from two are alive. The boy from six, the one with an eleven in training, is halfway to the farthest mountain, the same one Antonius went up. The careers are looking through the supplies. My guess about there not being any food is confirmed. One of the tributes, I think from three, is running in the opposite direction of the mountains. The Cornucopia stands between him and the mountains. He stands at the edge of the ice, looking down into the blue water. He looks up at the sky. Blood trickles from a wound, which is covered by the parka. It's around his stomach. He takes a deep breath, still looking at the sky. Then he jumps into the water. His head surfaces, and he takes a gulp of air. He's pulled down, probably by the undertow. I'm sure it's even stronger here than it was in our arena. He vanishes under the ice.

I can't believe it. No one ever commits suicide in the Games. It's an unwritten rule. I look uneasily at Marvel. He just shrugs. "I guess he wanted to die in his own way," he says. "It probably wasn't a good idea, though."

The cannons begin. They go on until they reach twelve. Half of the tributes are dead. I slump back against the couch. They both made it. Antonius is making good progress up the mountain, and Sally and Calliope are far ahead of the other tributes. The boy from six is just starting to climb up the same mountain as Antonius.

The camera moves to Calliope and Sally. Calliope stops to pick some berries from a bush and put them in her backpack. They keep climbing.

We watch for a while, but the tributes are dispersed, and there aren't any fights. I lay my head down on the arm rest.

"Why don't you sleep for a while?" Marvel suggests. "I can watch for a while."

I don't say anything. I don't want to sleep, but now is a good chance to catch up on the sleep I missed last night.

I lift my head from the arm rest. "You sleep," I tell him. "You slept even less than I did."

He just shakes his head. "You need it." He stands up, and I put my head back down, stretching my legs out.

"Wake me up if anything happens, all right?"

"I will," he says, sitting at my feet. "Sleep."

I'm asleep in a few seconds.

**Marvel**

Nothing eventful happens as darkness settles over the arena. Calliope and Sally continue hiking. Antonius finds a small crevice, where he settles down to sleep, pulling the ski goggles over his eyes. The boy from six is on the same mountain as him, but they're a good mile apart. Lily sleeps beside me, wrapped in the blanket.

The phone rings at three in morning, shattering the quiet of the apartment. I jump. Lily stirs, but doesn't wake.

Should I answer it? Who would be calling me here? Most likely no one. Maybe it's for one of our attendants. It keeps ringing. Lily's going to wake up if I don't get it. I want to let her sleep for as long as I can. I stand up carefully, taking her hand out of mine. She rolls over, curling tighter into a ball.

I grab the phone off the table in the hallway and put it to my ear. "Hello?" I say hesitantly.

"Marvel!" The voice is tinny, but I recognize it right away. Gloss. "I didn't think you were going to answer."

"I didn't know if I should or not," I say.

"It doesn't matter. I have to tell you about sponsors," he says in a rush. "You need," he pauses. "Wait, you don't have any, do you?"

"No," I say. "Antonius let that girl go during the bloodbath. That's not going to go over well."

"Don't worry about that," he answers. "You - wait. Is Lily there?"

"No, she's in the living room."

"All right," he continues. "I thought it might be on speaker. You need to go down to the lobby and rub elbows with the potential sponsors. Getting them is only fifty percent up to the tribute. The mentor plays an important role too."

Leave it to Gloss to use a term like rubbing elbows. "Okay," I say, ignoring the awful feeling in my stomach. "When should I go down?"

"Probably tomorrow morning. Let Lily stay and watch, you can go down and talk to people." His voice grows fainter, but I can still hear him. "Tomorrow morning's a good time, right? Cashmere! Are you listening? Tomorrow morning is a good time for Marvel to go down to the lobby, right?"

I don't hear her answer. "Okay," he continues, the phone presumably held to his ear again. "She says it's a good time."

"All right," I say. "I'll do that, then. What am I supposed to say?"

"You probably don't even have to initiate anything. They'll come to you. You're more popular there than you think." He doesn't sound pleased by this piece of news. I'm not pleased either.

"Okay," I say. "They probably don't need water or anything, since there's the snow, but I'll see about food. Maybe some more knives for Antonius. Calliope could use some too."

"Sounds good," Gloss says. "You'll do fine. I'm not allowed to tell you much more, which is completely insane. Other mentors are allowed to ask their more experienced mentor questions." He sounds angry as he says this. "Yes, Agatha, I know." He sighs, his tone turning away from anger and towards fatigue. I can picture him standing in her kitchen, running his hand through his hair like he always does. She's probably reminding him the phone lines are bugged. We all know it.

I look around the corner into the living room. Lily's sitting up. I wave to her and gesture to the phone. She nods, giving me a puzzled look. She's probably wondering who I'm talking to. At least she knows I'm still here, though.

"I need to go," I tell Gloss. "Lily's awake."

"Try to get some more sleep," he tells me.

"I will," I say. "She can watch for a while."

"Wait," he says. I put the phone back to my ear. "Are you guys doing all right?"

"I think so," I answer, though I'm not sure. "We're doing the best we can."

He sighs. "They're both still alive, so you're obviously doing all right." He pauses for a second, but I can tell he has something else to say. "Marvel, when you go downstairs tomorrow," he pauses, searching for a word. "Some of the sponsors, the younger ones, they're going to be very... interested. Just remember that their parents can get you whatever you want for Antonius and Calliope." His voice rises. "I know, Cashmere! I have to warn him."

"I don't understand," I say.

"I can't say anything more," he says, sounding defeated and exhausted. "You'll be fine. You can go now. Get some sleep."

"All right," I say. "Thanks." I hang up, staring at the phone for a second before walking back into the living room. What does he mean?

Lily looks up as I walk over. "It was Gloss," I tell her.

"Why would he call here?"

"He needed to tell me about sponsors," I say, sitting down. "I have to go down to the lobby tomorrow morning."

She must hear the lack of enthusiasm in my voice. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No," I say. "Someone needs to stay and watch."

She nods, then stands up and moves to the end of the couch. "You can sleep now. I'll watch."

"Are you all right watching?"

She nods. I brief her on what happened, then lie down. I'm asleep in seconds.

**AN: ****I hope you guys like Antonius and Calliope. Don't get too attached, though. *Muahaha*. Who do you imagine them to look like? (Actors, etc) I'd love to know what you imagine. I didn't give a lot of physical description, so it's up to your imagination! What about Lily? Who do you imagine her as? **


	16. Plan

**Marvel**

I wake up late the next morning. An avox brings us food, and I eat with Lily in the living room. She tells me what happened while I was sleeping. The boy from nine was killed by the boy from six. Antonius and Calliope weren't near it, so she didn't wake me up. I watch with her for a while, then reluctantly stand up. "I need to go down to the lobby," I tell her.

"Are you sure you're all right doing that?"

I'm not. Not at all. I don't want to go down there and talk to the people who stood by while I fought for my life. While I almost died. While Lily almost died. The people who are going to stand by as Antonius and Calliope fight. "Yes," I tell her.

She looks worried. I give her a reassuring smile. "I'll be right back up," I tell her. "Hopefully with some sponsors."

She's still in her pajamas, the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. "Okay," she says, hugging her knees to her chest. I wrap the blanket around her tightly and kiss the top of her head."I'll come back up if anything happens." I know that there are big screens down in the lobby, so I'll keep an eye on them. I head to the elevator, pressing the lobby button.

The doors slide closed. I take a deep breath. It's going to be fine. I'll stay down there for a few minutes, then come back up.

The elevator glides to a stop all too quickly. I step out as the doors open, looking around. The lobby is huge. I've never been down here during the day, only after interviews, which are always done at night. The ceiling is tall, at least six stories, and made of glass, reminding me of the greenhouse. Tall trees in pots stretch towards the roof. I think they're palm trees, but I can't be sure, since I've never seen a real one. The resemblence to the greenhouse ends there. Dozens of people mill about, their hair the familiar wild hues only the Capitol can offer.

I haven't taken five steps when a man walks towards me. He's dressed normally, at least by Capitol standards. His suit is navy, and it's buldging around his midriff. His hair is graying. He grins at me like we're old friends. "Marvel! So nice to see you down here!"

He sticks out his hand and I go to shake it. When I take it, he pulls me towards him, giving me a one handed slap on the back with the hand that isn't clutching a glass of pink liquid. The rim is coated in something that looks like sugar.

I laugh awkwardly, smiling at him and already wishing I were back upstairs with Lily. "I'm Foster Lyman," he says.

"Nice to meet you," I say. I don't know what else to add. He's the one who came to me.

"Let's get a drink," he says.

I start to say that I don't want anything, but he's already walking into the crowd. I follow. People greet me as I pass, calling out congratulations, both for my winning the Games and for getting two tributes through the bloodbath. I don't deserve any credit for for the latter, but I smile and thank them none the less.

Foster has arrived at a long table with a white tablecloth. He takes a glass of the pink liquid and hands it to me. I thank him and take it, but don't drink any.

"Let's go sit down," he says. There's a very square black couch and some chairs nearby, some of them occupied. I sit down across from him, near one of the giant pots holding the trees. I can see a large screen across the lobby. It doesn't look like Calliope or Antonius are on camera, which is a good sign.

Foster sees me looking and turns around. "Antonius is doing very well on his own," he says. "Why didn't he join the Careers?"

"He works better on his own," I tell him. It's not completely true, but he seems satisfied by my answer.

"Is he planning on using those knives?" he asks. "He seemed ready to go into the thick of the fight for them."

I nod. "He's really good with them. You'll see as soon as he finds another tribute."

Foster grins at me. "I'm sure we will," he says. I think the conversation has reached a standstill, but Foster plows on. "What about Calliope? Does she have enough supplies?"

I think for a moment. "She could use some food," I say. "They've got some water, but no food."

He leans back in his chair, drinking the last of the pink liquid and signalling to an attendant to bring him another one. "Do you want something?"

I shake my head, taking a small sip of the drink he gave me earlier. It has a taste I don't recognize. I can taste strong alcohol, though, even with just a small sip. I put it down on the table that sits between us.

Foster takes his drink from the attendant and leans towards me. "Food is what everyone wants this year," he says, "what with the lack of it at the Cornucopia."

I nod, and he continues. "Once I see about Antonius' supposed skill with the knives, I'll get back to you on it."

"All right," I say, standing up. I can't blame him, as much as I want food for them. Why should he believe that Antonius can throw knives any better than the rest of the tributes? "Thank you for your time."

"In a rush somewhere?" he asks, looking up at me. He doesn't say it rudely, just takes another sip of his drink and settles back in his chair, a smile playing on his lips.

I feel the colour rise to my face. "I should really go see how Lily's doing," I stammer.

He grins at me. "Yes, Miss. Rhymer. You two certainly have something special, don't you?"

"You could say that," I say, at a complete loss for words. I take my drink from the table.

"Bring her down here sometime, won't you?"

"Sure," I lie. I have no intention of bringing her down here, and until he sends Antonius and Calliope an entire ham each, that's not going to change.

I skirt around the edge of the crowd, casually dumping my drink into one of the giant pots. I stop under another screen. It's showing two dots, which are closing in on each other. Each dot represents a tribute, and they're all numbered. I turn away. Neither of them is labelled with a one. I push my way back through the crowd slowly, in case anyone else wants to talk. I'm out of the thick of the crowd and almost to the elevator when three girls appear in front of me. I stop. One of them, her hair light purple and curled, grins at me, sticking out her hand. "I'm Palmer," she says. I'd guess she's about my age.

"Nice to meet you, Palmer," I say, shaking her hand. "I'm Marvel."

She giggles. "We know who you are," she says, looking at her friend, who laughs too.

"This is Juliana," she says, pointing to the next girl. Her hair is straight and so blonde it's almost white. I shake her hand, which makes her giggle for no apparent reason. Palmer points to the last girl. Her hair is brown, and it looks natural. "This is Alora."

I smile at her, shaking her hand. She smiles back, looking over my shoulder and scanning the crowd. Once again, I'm at a loss for what to say. Palmer and Juliana turn towards one of the giant pots, perching on the edge. I stand across from them, still holding my empty glass. Alora follows us after a moment.

"So," Palmer says, twirling one of her curls around her finger. "Are you happy to be back here? It's so amazing to meet a Victor who's our age!" I can't help but compare her obviously fake curls to Lily's real ones. Lily's are so much prettier.

"Yeah," I say, pulling my mind back to the conversation. "It's amazing to be back."

"We watched your interview the other day," she says, standing up and moving closer to me. She puts one hand on my chest, fixing the collar of my shirt, and looks up at me. "You're so modest. If I'd done everything you'd done, I wouldn't be so modest. You were so strong in the arena." She's so close that I can smell her perfume. I think of Lily, upstairs alone, wearing her pyjamas and wrapped in the plaid blanket. Before I know what I'm doing, I take a step back. Palmer looks undeterred as her hands drop to her side.

She looks at Juliana, who nods at her. "So," she says, leaning close, as if sharing a secret. "Are you and Lily, like, a thing?"

"Excuse me?"

"Are you two going out?"

"Oh," I say. Gloss' words come back to me, suddenly making sense. _Some of the sponsors, the younger ones, they're going to be very... interested. _I nod, taking another step back and hoping it'll be more obvious this time.

Palmer looks put out. "Well, Lily's not down here, is she?"

I shake my head, afraid of what she's about to ask me. She's still far too close for comfort. "You and I, we could-"

"Are you deaf, Palmer? He just said that he's with Lily. Lay off."

Relief floods through me. Alora, who's been preoccupied scanning the crowd, raises her eyebrows at Palmer.

"So what? No one cares if you're with someone else."

I'm about to interject that I do, in fact, care, but Alora rolls her eyes. "The Districts are different than us," she says, "they actually have standards."

I've never heard anyone here talk like that. It's a nice change, actually. Palmer glares at Alora, then turns back to me. "Sorry about that, she's just grumpy." She twirls her finger in her hair.

"It's fine," I say, hoping that Alora will intervene again. "I should be getting upstairs, though. I need to make sure Antonius and Calliope are all right."

Palmer nods, finally stepping back. "You'll be back down, right?"

"Yes," I say, already backing away. I wave and then turn, resisting the urge to run for the elevator.

**Lily**

I stay in my pyjamas after Marvel leaves, watching the television. All of the tributes are awake. Antonius is walking towards the east of his mountain, towards the suspension bridges connecting it to the other mountain. Calliope and Sally are still climbing towards the summit of the other mountain. They don't seem to have a destination in mind. They're far from the rest of the tributes, though, so it's fine with me.

Antonius has stopped to put some snow in his water bottle when I hear the elevator whir. I turn around as Marvel steps out. He walks over and sits down on the couch beside me. "How did it go?" I ask.

He just looks at me, then leans over and pulls me into his arms. I'm still wrapped in the blanket, so I sort of fall into his lap, but he doesn't seem to mind. He holds me in my awkward little cocoon for a long time, his chin resting on top of my head, which is resting against his chest. "What's this for?"

"I just missed you," he says, still holding me.

"You were gone for an hour," I say.

He pushes my shoulders back so he can look at me. "Am I not allowed to miss you?" he asks, grinning at me.

"I guess so," I say, grinning back.

He smiles at me, reaching out and brushing a piece of my hair back. "While we're at it, I think you have the most beautiful hair of anyone I've ever seen."

I can't hide a smile. "What did you drink down there?"

"Nothing," he says, then tells me about dumping his drink in a plant pot, which makes me laugh.

"If you say you love my laugh, I'm calling a doctor," I tell him.

"Fine, I'll just think it," he says. I maneuver an arm out of the blanket and push his shoulder playfully. He pushes me back. I can't move around, thanks to the blanket, so I end up rolling off the couch onto the floor. We're both laughing so much that I don't even notice Calliope appear on the screen. Marvel's helping me off the floor when he looks over my shoulder and sees. His smile disappears instantly, and my heart skips a beat. I turn around so I can see the screen. Sally and Calliope are standing under a rock overhang.

"... somehow. That's the only way that one of us can win," Sally is telling Calliope.

"What about the bridges?" Calliope asks. "I'm not sure what they're held up by, but maybe we could knock one down."

Sally nods slowly. "That could work. One of us can lure them to one, then the other can cut through the rope."

"Exactly!" Calliope says. "With them gone, we'd have a much better chance of going home."

"It'd be dangerous," Sally says. "But there's no point in not risking it. If we don't, they're going to win."

"I agree," Calliope answers. "One of us needs to win."

Sally looks at her sadly, but doesn't say anything. Does she not think she can win? "We could go look at one of the bridges tomorrow," she suggests.

"Alright," Calliope agrees. "You sleep first. I'll guard."

Sally lies down. They don't have any sleeping bags, and she shivers. They're both wearing one of the two pairs of glasses that Calliope grabbed at the Cornucopia.

I turn to Marvel. "Are they going to take out the Careers?"

He's still watching the screen. "I think so."

"Did you tell her to do that?"

He turns to me. "Yes," he says. "I figured they'd have a much better chance with them gone."

"That's smart," I say. "Maybe we can get some sponsors, if it works out."

We watch together for a while. The sun is still high in the sky when I suggest that Marvel try to sleep, since he's had far less than me. He wants me to, but eventually relents. He stretches out and I sit at his feet.

The rest of the day is uneventful. With Calliope and Sally's plan on the horizon, though, the audience will be satisfied. It's sure to guaratee a few deaths. I can only hope it won't be Calliope.

After a few hours, as the sun sinks towards the mountains, Marvel sits up. We eat dinner in the living room.

As night settles in and the temperature drops, I realize the tributes without goggles are in big trouble. I watch as one of the girl's skin turns progressively redder, then turns to purple. It looks like a giant bruise. It's a horrible sight. Just before midnight, when the majority of the tributes are either sleeping or trying to find a safe spot to camp, Marvel suggests I try to sleep. I don't want to, but it's no use if I'm exhausted. I lie down where he was, and he sits at my feet. I fall asleep easily, knowing he's there.

**AN: I hope you enjoyed that! I already have the next chapter written, but I'm going away for three days. It'll be up soon - the second I get home, I promise. There's going to be lots of action, both inside the arena and in the Capitol. Thank you so much for reading! **


	17. Victor's Repayment

**Marvel**

Lily's been sleeping beside me for a while when the bell in the elevator rings, signalling an arrival. I don't jump at the sudden noise this time. Who would be coming here so late? I feel like I'm part of some top secret mission, with the late night visitors and the phone calls. It's a funny thought, but my current situation is anything but funny.

The apartment is dark, and I stand up carefully, trying not to wake Lily. I put my hands in front of me, feeling my way to the light switch. I'm almost there when I hit my right shin off the coffee table, which makes a noise so loud I'm sure it's woken up half the building. I wince, more from the noise than the pain, and resist the urge to curse loudly. Lily, rolls over, looking at me blearily. "Sorry," I say, in a loud whisper.

"Are you all right?" Her voice is groggy. She's still half asleep.

"Yes," I say. "You can go back to sleep."

She lies back down and I flip on the lights. The elevator is still there, waiting for me to open the doors. I cross behind the couch and push the button on the elevator, revealing an avox. He hands me an envelope with a wax seal on the back, molded into the shape of the Capitol's insgnia. My name is written in careful cursive on the front. I look up to thank the avox, but he's already disappeared.

I walk into the kitchen and tear open the envelope, revealing a small notecard on thick creamy paper. I squint at the writing.

I, Coriolanus D. Snow, President of Panem, request the honour of your presence in my office tomorrow, the sixth of June, at seven o'clock in the evening. A reply is not necessary. Thank you.

A scrawled signature finishes the brief note. I walk slowly to the kitchen and sit down on a stool at the counter, head reeling. What could he possibly want from me? I think of the horror that has befallen other Victors. Usually, things don't happen to the Victors, but to their families. Disappearances, accidents, torture. I think of Gloss and Cashmere. Their parents are both dead. I wonder for the first time if that happened before or after they were crowned. What will happen to me? My parents are already dead, and I have no siblings. I put my head down on the counter. The cool surface feels good against my forehead.

I crumple the paper in my hand into a ball, then toss it over the counter and onto the floor. No matter how hard I think about it, I can't think of what I've done that's upset him.

"Marvel?"

I lift my head off the counter and turn around. Lily stands framed in the doorway, a silhouette against the light in the living room.

She looks worried. "Sorry, did I scare you?" I take a deep breath, wishing I hadn't thrown the paper. I don't want her to see. If I tell her where I'm going, she'll worry.

"Marvel?" Lily's waving a hand in front of me, smiling slightly. "Are you all right? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

I pull my eyes off the floor and look at her. "Sorry," I say. "I'm fine. Why are you awake?"

"I thought I heard someone smash into the coffee table," she says, sitting beside me on the other stool and spinning the seat to face me.

"That would be me," I answer, putting my feet on either side of hers, which are resting on the bar beneath my stool.

"Did someone come in the elevator?"

I run a hand along the smooth surface of the counter. "It was just an avox," I say. "He, erm, wanted to see if we needed anything."

"At two in the morning?" She doesn't sound skeptical, just surprised. I feel bad lying to her, but I really don't want to worry her.

"Yes," I say. "Weird, isn't it?"

She nods slowly, spinning the seat of her stool around a bit.

"Why don't you get some more sleep? I'm sorry for waking you up."

"I'm not tired anymore," she says. "I'll watch for a while. You can sleep."

I agree reluctantly. My foggy mind clearly needs some rest, plus all of the tributes are sleeping anyway. I tell Lily I'll meet her in the living room in a minute, then skirt around the chrome island in the centre of the kitchen and pick up the crumpled note. I stuff it in my pocket and head to the living room. I fall asleep quickly, telling Lily to wake me at sunrise. I take her hand before I lie down, hoping that Snow won't touch her since she has a family to worry about.

Lily gently shakes my shoulder in the morning, as the sun rises over the mountains. It's a picturesque scene, the bright orange sun balancing on the peaks of the mountains.

As the first rays of dawn spread over the arena, Calliope and Sally waste no time in packing up their meager supplies and heading for the distant bridge.

They reach the bridge after an hour, both looking exhausted. They're high above sea level, and the air is thinner. Calliope walks to one of the two poles supporting the bridge. It's simple. Just a wooden pole with a rope attached to it. "I could saw through this with a knife," Calliope says, running her hand along the rope. "Or the axe."

"Yeah," Sally agrees. "How are we supposed to find out where they are, though?" she asks, referring to the Careers.

Calliope looks around, setting her eyes on a ledge, elevated high above their heads. "I could try to climb up there," she says. "Do you have the axe?"

Sally nods, handing it to her. Calliope uses one of the knots Lily must've taught her, securing it around her belt loop. She starts climbing, wedging the axe between fissures in the rock. She's at the top in no time. Sally stares at her. "How'd you know that?" she calls up.

"I know some stuff," Calliope says, grinning. She moves away from the edge, to her left. The view she has is amazing. I can see the Cornucopia far below, and another suspension bridge. It's not much farther down. There's another one farther up. I can't see any other tributes.

Calliope goes back to the edge and lies on her stomach. Sally cranes her neck to look up at her, squinting in the sun. "I can't see anyone else," Calliope reports, careful not to yell. "I think we should camp here. Maybe someone'll come in the later today, or in the morning."

Sally nods her agreement. "I'll come down," Calliope says. She secures the rope around a tree, then rapels down, using the same knot as before.

They prepare camp, and for the first time since I've been watching, the camera turns to Antonius. I wonder why they changed to him, until I look at the map in the top corner of the screen. Two of the numbered dots, which represent the tributes, are almost on top of each other. I squint at the numbers and my heart skips a beat. One and six.

Antonius is sitting on the ground, looking through his backpack. He has no idea that the boy is near him. The camera cuts to the boy from six. From what I can see, he doesn't seem to know that Antonius is near him. His ice pick hangs by his side. He looks tired. I feel Lily go tense beside me.

The two dots begin blinking red, signalling that they're within fifty feet of each other. I feel like yelling to Antonius, telling him that the boy is right there. Once the boy, who's name I believe to be Broderick, sees Antonius, it'll be all about who has the best reaction time.

My heart is pounding. Antonius zips up his backpack, then stands up. He needs to turn around. That way, he can have a view of Broderick before he has an ice pick buried in his back.

Antonius squints up at the sun, probably trying to see which direction to go. He turns just as Broderick steps through the trees. They both stare at each other for a split second. Broderick rears back and throws the ice pick - a bad decision. Antonius ducks and the pick flies above his head. He jumps back up, grabbing a knife from his belt. Broderick, now weaponless, has turned and is running back into the trees. Antonius charges after him, the knife clutched in his left hand. He throws it, but the trees make aiming difficult. The knife buries itself deep in Broderick's upper arm. He screams, blood pouring from the wound. He keeps running.

Antonius turns and runs the other way, grabbing another knife from his dwindling supply. There are only two left. I wonder if he could've hit Broderick in the head. I know he could've, but the trees were a problem. I saw how he let the girl go at the bloodbath, though. I know he's not a killer, but I also know he wants to come home.

Lily collapses back against the couch, looking horribly pale. "He's fine," I tell her, but I'm scared too. My heart is pounding. I keep watching the screen. Broderick keeps running, but eventually stops to take care of his wound. The knife is buried deep, and barbs prevent him from pulling it out without making the wound worse. He curses loudly, sitting back against a tree.

Antonius runs for a long time, until it's completely dark. He props himself up against a rock wall, in a crevice of sorts, closing his eyes.

I know that Broderick's a favourite for Victor. He's strong, smart, and ruthless. All the traits of a killer. All the traits of a Victor. This injury will be a major setback. He has no weapons now. I'm sure he's got sponsors, though. He's already killed three people, and it's only been four days.

"Do you think the audience is getting bored?" Lily asks me.

"I doubt it," I say. "There haven't been many fights, but they've got Sally and Calliope's plan to keep them excited."

She nods. I check my watch. It's already four in the afternoon. Three hours until I need to leave. My heart skips a beat every time I think about it, which is far more often than I would like.

We watch for a while. Antonius continues on his way, luckily in the opposite direction of Broderick, and Sally and Calliope sit at their campsite, watching the sun sink towards the horizon.

We eat dinner in the living room, then I suggest that Lily sleep. I can tell she's tired, and it'll be easier to leave when she's asleep. Calliope and Antonius are far from other tributes, so nothing will happen while I'm gone, at least not involving them. I'll be back before she knows I'm gone. She lies down, then grabs my wrist, pulling me down so that I lie beside her. I put my head on the pillow next to hers, wrapping my arms around her. She puts her head on my chest and is asleep in no time. I lie awake, checking my watch repeatedly and wishing I could stay here.

I wonder if Antonius' knife throwing lost him any sponsors. The trees made it hard, but it's not good to completely miss anywhere lethal. As much as I don't want to, I'll go downstairs tomorrow and talk to Foster.

In what seems like no time, my watch reads six thirty. I look down at the top of Lily's head and wish for the hundredth time that I could just stay here. That, of course, isn't an option. I stand up slowly, carefully moving Lily's head off my chest and taking her hand out of mine. I spread the blanket over her, then walk towards the kitchen. I grab some toast, then double check the television. Calliope and Antonius are far from the other tributes. Lily is still sleeping.

Taking a deep breath, I head for the elevator.

After a few wrong turns, I find the correct building. It's attached to the Training Centre, so I don't even need to go outside. I take another elevator to the eighth floor. When they open, I'm not greeted with a hallway as I expected, but a small foyer. A huge set of oak doors loom in front of me. This must be it.

I push open the doors. Directly across from me a lone secretary sits behind a huge desk. The Capitol's insignia is on the wall behind her. She's writing something, and doesn't look up as the doors shut behind me. I stand there for a second. What am I supposed to do. I clear my throat and she looks up.

"I'm here for-"

"Eleventh door on the right." She continues writing.

Does she even know who I am? I wonder if I should inquire further, then decide against it. I walk around her desk. A long hallway stretches before me. There must be forty doors here.

I pad silently down the carpeted hallway, counting the doors. I keep counting until I get to the eleventh. I would know in an instant that this is the President's office. The doors are taller than the rest, and the insignia once again looks down on me, carved into the oak. I'm reaching up to knock, but the door swings inward, and I'm left with my fist raised awkwardly in the air. I let it drop to my side and step into the office.

"Marvel," says the President. "I'm glad you're here. Please, come in." His voice is raspy, like sandpaper rubbing on a painted wall. At first, I can't tell where the voice is coming from, but I spot him to my left, framed in front of several large windows. It's dark out, but I'm sure the view is amazing. I can see the lights of the Capitol twinkling below us, stretching as far as I can see.

He's seated in a leather chair behind a huge wooden desk. I walk across the room. It's huge, and it takes a few seconds to reach his desk. I can feel his eyes on me. I don't look at him, instead looking around at the different weapons that line the walls. There are boxes with glass display fronts containing every weapon imaginable. Swords, axes, knives, awls, arrows - even a large rock, stained with something black that I guess to be blood. Every box has a brass plate below it, engraved with a number.

"It's an amazing collection, isn't it?" inquires Snow, who's been watching me.

I arrive in front of his desk and force myself to look into his eyes. "It's interesting," I lie. It just makes me think about the arena - about Antonius and Calliope.

"All the weapons," he continues, gesturing around the room with a wide sweep of his arm, "are the weapons that were used for the final kill of each Hunger Games."

I nod. My eyes follow the numbers, seventy one, seventy two, seventy three. I can see my spear, framed in one of the boxes. I feel the colour drain from my face. I try to look indifferent, since I can tell that Snow is still studying me.

"Take a seat," he says.

I pull out one of the two chairs in front of his desk and sit down, trying to keep my hands from shaking. "How is the mentoring going?"

I look at him. He obviously doesn't care, so I'm not sure why he's asking me. "Pretty well," I say.

"Very good," he says. He clasps his hands together and folds them in front of him on the desk. "Antonius and Calliope are doing very well."

"They are," I say.

Snow leans forward. "Now Marvel," he says. "I obviously didn't call you here for small talk. I have something very important to tell you."

"Alright," I say, trying not to let my imagination run wild like it was back in the apartment.

"As you know, our sponsors here in the Capitol are very generous."

"Of course, sir," I say.

"Without them, you and Lily wouldn't be here."

I gulp and nod my head. Where is he going with this?

"It is only fair that the priveleged victors... repay them."

"I'm sorry," I say, my heart racing. "I don't understand."

Snow taps his fingers on the desk, leaning towards me. "I think you do, Marvel."

I force myself to hold his gaze. Of course I understand. The Victors are desirable, and they're all the talk in the Capitol. I think of Palmer, her eagerness to talk to me. The way she acts, as if we're already together, as if we've done more than talk for a few minutes. I also think of my refusal to have anything to do with her beyond talking. Snow wants me to sell myself to them, possibly other citizens. The thought makes me feel sick to my stomach. I try not to let it show on my face.

"What happens if I don't?" I ask, careful not to let my voice waver.

Snow's eyes leave mine and his fingers find a small drawer. He slides it open and pulls out a small remote, like the one that I use to control the television up in the apartment. He squints at the buttons, then clicks one. A solid black curtian rolls down on the window behind him and a projector whirls, spitting an image onto the material. For a second there's static, then I recognize the apartment back in the training centre. I can see Lily, lying with her head on the couch, wrapped up in the plaid blanket. She's still fast asleep. A small area in the bottom corner of the screen has several numbers. 04:07:42:18. That must be the amount of time the tributes have been in the arena. The last number continues changing with each passing second.

Our eyes meet. "Miss Rhymer will no longer be in the picture."

He says it in a factual tone. I'm sure he wouldn't hesitate a second before killing her. The thought makes me angry beyond expression, and I struggle to keep the fear off my face.

"What about Lily?" I ask. "Are you making her do the same thing?"

Snow looks towards the projection for a painfully long time as I await his answer. He takes his time, turning his chair back around to face me. "If you are willing to go by what I have said, Miss Rhymer will not be asked to perform the same favor. If, however, you fail to comply, we will not hesitate to do most unpleasant things."

I gulp. I'm sure by now all the fear that I'm feeling inside is showing up clear as day on my face. Snow leans back in his chair. "So we have a deal, then?"

"Yes," I say. I push my chair back and stand up. I just want to leave.

"Good luck with the mentoring," Snow says to my back.

"Thank you," I say. I push open the door and walk quickly down the hall, clenching my hands into fists by my sides to keep them from shaking.

**AN: I thought that no one was reading this story, but the traffic graph on here begs to differ. I seriously plead with you guys to tell me if you're reading this. If you've been reading it all than I can't even express my gratitude. Leave a review, even just saying hi. I reply to all of them, and your support honestly means so so much to me. Thank you a million times for reading. Remember, I know you're out there. SO DON'T TRY TO HIDE :) The more reviews I get, even just saying hi, the faster I post. **


	18. Collapse

**Lily**

I waken to the sound of screaming. I'm awake instantly. I sit up, heart pounding. Marvel is sitting in one of the chairs. "It's not Calliope or Antonius," he tells me. I focus my bleary eyes on the screen. It's the time of the night when the sky is still dark overhead, but the horizon is lit by the rapidly rising sun. I remember that time in our arena.

The screams are coming from a small girl, who I believe to be from three. She's running as fast as she can down the mountain. At first I don't know what she's running from because her dot isn't near any one else's. The camera pans out, and I see a wall of snow bearing down on her. It sounds like thunder, and in no time has engulfed her. Her screams stop almost immeadiately, followed by a cannon. Her dot fades from the map. Ten left.

I rub my eyes. "You can go to sleep," I tell Marvel. "I'm not tired anymore."

"I'm all right," he says. He looks pale. I briefly wonder why. Mentoring is taking its toll on both of us.

I don't question him. He'll sleep when he needs to. He moves over to the couch and sits beside me. I put some of the blanket over him. He gives me a small smile, but I can tell he's deep in thought.

Antonius is on the screen now. He heard the sound of the avalanche, but it stopped far above him. He walks around for a minute, then stops and takes off his boots. His toes are purple. He rubs them, gritting his teeth. Frostbite is setting in. These Games are going to be over soon, if the frostbite spreads. All the tributes have the same boots, so I'm sure he's not the only one with this problem.

We watch for another two hours, until the sun has risen high above the mountains. It doesn't seem to do anything to help with the bitter cold, and one of the tributes, who has been sleeping without ski goggles, has skin the colour of coal on her cheeks and forehead. She touches the area around her eyes, and a large chunk peels off. I try to keep my breakfast down. There's no blood. She won't be alive much longer.

As the day slips by, the circles under Marvel's eyes grow darker. His pale face makes it look worse. I convince him to sleep, and he lies down. I continue watching through the afternoon. I feel certain that the audience must be getting bored, but Marvel seems to think otherwise, and I believe him. He's the one who's been down to the lobby, not me. Sally and Calliope continue with their plan to lure the Careers toward them. I'll wake up Marvel as soon as they're going to put it into action.

The afternoon sun is shining through the window when the camera turns to Calliope and Sally, who are ready to start the plan. I shake Marvel's shoulder, my heart pounding. What's going to happen? He sits up immediately, before he's fully awake, rubbing his eyes. "Sally and Calliope are ready," I tell him. "The Careers are close by, no more than a quarter of a mile."

"I hope it works," he says groggily. "Did we get any sponsors?"

I shake my head, looking at the light beside the elevator. People down in the lobby can push a button if they're willing to sponsor, and we'll be notified by the blinking light. Marvel looks discouraged. I squeeze his hand.

Sally and Calliope are whispering, still sitting near the rock face that Calliope climbed. They're dividing up the weapons and supplies that they have.

"One of us is going to end up on the other side," Sally says. "Take the food,"

"It's fine," Calliope tells her. "I know which plants I can eat."

Sally looks apprehensive, but puts the food into her backpack. "I'll keep the axe," she says. "It's probably the best for cutting through the ropes."

Marvel lets out a frustrated sigh beside me. Sally is right, of course, but Calliope is better with an axe than the knives. How is she going to defend herself? I know she hasn't given up. She wouldn't. She can't.

Calliope nods. "Alright." She stands up, attaching a rope to her belt. She quickly climbs up to the ledge. She walks to the edge, peering out over the mountains. I can see that the Cornucopia has disappeared. At first, I don't understand. They always leave it in the arena. Then I see the deep blue water. The ice melted. That's weird. I guess that the gamemakers did that, since the temperature is only getting colder. There's no way the ice could've melted on its own.

Calliope scans the forest. I can't see anyone, but she seems to. She crouches down, then crawls back to the overhang, under which Sally stands. She rapels down.

Sally is looking at Calliope expectantly as she lands on the ground beside her. "They're just to the right," Calliope tells her. "I saw the guy from two."

Sally nods, her eyes wide. "We know what to do, then." She doesn't look scared, only determined. Calliope has the same look in her eyes.

"My mentor told me to be brave," she tells Sally. "Now is the best time to act on it."

Marvel looks at me. "You told her that?"

I nod. "Before they went to the hovercraft." He squeezes my hand, taking his eyes off mine and looking back at the screen. I look at him for a minute, remarking how pale he still is, then turn my attention to the screen as well.

"Ready?" Sally asks Calliope.

Calliope nods. "I think so." Sally pulls her into a hug. Calliope doesn't hesitate before she hugs her back. "One of us has to win," Calliope says. "No matter what."

Sally smiles weakly at her. "All right," she says. "Thanks for allying with me."

"I'm glad I did," Calliope says. "Let's do this."

They exchange a final glance, and Sally retreats into the forest. So many things could go wrong. Calliope waits until she's hidden, then screams at the top of her lungs.

The camera cuts to the Careers. The girl carries an ice pick, and the boy has something that looks like a harpoon. I wonder how accurate they are with their weapons. They look up as they hear the scream, exchanging a glance. It's coming from the direction they were headed in.

"Should we go look?" asks the boy.

The girl shrugs, indifferent. "Might as well," she says.

They head in that direction. They never even assume it could be a trap, another perfect example of their arrogance. Calliope continues screaming, and the Careers break into a jog. They arrive in the clearing in less than a minute. Calliope turns and runs as they break through the trees. She knows the direction to the bridge, and it's less than quarter of a mile away. She runs and they sprint after her.

"Don't throw," the girl wheezes to her partner. "Too many trees."

The boy doesn't answer but lowers his harpoon. Sally leaves her hiding place, following quietly at a distance. At first I think she's too far back, but the bridge is long, she should have plenty of time to knock it down.

Calliope runs onto the bridge. She has a good lead on them, and looks over her shoulder as they come out of the trees. She sprints as fast as she can, and is already halfway across by time they step onto the bridge.

The boy grabs his harpoon and aims one of the spears at Calliope. It misses, but not by much, digging into the wooden planks inches from her heels. She doesn't stop, sprinting into the forest on the other side.

Sally comes tearing out of the forest, axe in hand. The Careers are near the centre of the bridge. She swings wildly at one of the heavy twine ropes that secure the bridge to its wooden post. It severs in one swing, and the bridge tips wildly. The Careers scramble to grab onto the rope railing, looking around. They see Sally for the first time.

"Run!" the boy yells, and begins sprinting for the other end, the end where Calliope disappeared. The girl follows at his heels. Sally is swinging at the other rope, but it's not splitting as easily as the other one. Calliope, who is hidden a few feet into the forest, sits up, her eyes wide. Sally is looking panicked. The rope doesn't seem to be splitting.

"Calliope, run!" Sally yells, taking another swing at the rope.

Calliope stands up, ready to run. She's still watching Sally, a small figure across the gap between the mountains. As she watches, Sally puts the axe over her head, her arms shaking with the effort, and brings it down as hard as she can. The rope severs. The Careers are only steps from the edge. The bridge tilts wildly, the far end dropping into the abyss. The boy, who is closer to the edge, takes a wild dive towards safety, but he can't make it. Their screams echo across the arena. I look away as their bodies fall, still very much alive. I bury my head in Marvel's shoulder, and he puts his arm around me. The screams cut off and two cannons fire. At least they're not suffering. That fall was even farther than the cliff that Hugo pushed Ajax off of last year. I try to clear that thought from my head.

"You can look now," Marvel says quietly, and I pull my head away. Calliope has emerged from the forest. I want to scream at her, tell her that she needs to run. Every single tribute heard those screams. Broderick is only a few hundred yards away. I'm sure that he'll come over to investigate.

"What is she doing?" Marvel says angrily. "She needs to leave. Now."

Calliope walks to the edge of the abyss, careful not to look down. I'm sure it's not the height, but the broken bodies far below. "Thank you for allying with me," she calls to Sally.

"I'm glad I did," Sally says, her hands cupped around her mouth. She looks awfully pale. "One of us has to win."

"I'll try," Calliope says, but she doesn't look convinced. She still hasn't killed anyone, and she told me she didn't want to.

"Bye," Sally says. She looks at her for another second, then turns and walks into the forest.

"Bye," Calliope says quietly. She turns and heads into the forest.

I look at the numbered dots in the top right corner of the screen. Calliope is near Broderick, but not too close. Sally's dot, however, is blinking red. She's a stones throw away from the boy from ten, who must've come to see about the screams. What would have happened if he'd gotten there first?

I don't want Sally to die. I don't want the boy to die. I don't want anyone else to die. I want it all to be over.

Sally is walking, oblivious to the boy right near her. I want to close my eyes, but force myself to keep them open. Luckily she's quiet, but she's still headed right for him.

My heart is pounding. _Turn around! Just turn around!_ Sally steps around a tree and comes face to face with the boy. He's at least a head taller than her. They stare at each other for a second. Sally makes no move to throw the axe, which she holds in her hand. The boy looks at her for a second. For a moment I think he's going to let her go, but he rears back his arm and throws a short sword, which lands in her chest. She screams, and it's full of pain and fear.

I look away. It seems like too long before her cannon fires, even though it can't be more than a minute. Her dot fades from the map. The boy looks at her body for a minute. He looks like he's going to be sick. He pulls the sword out of her chest, looking at her small broken body. Her dark hair is spread around her head. Her eyes are closed. He looks like he's going to cry, but thinks better of it. He turns on his heel and runs. As if running will save him from the memories. It never saved me.

Calliope, who has only made it a little ways into the forest, looks up as she hears the scream. I know right away that she knows who it was. Her eyes fill with tears and she sits on the ground, putting her head in her hands. Her shoulders shake.

The hovercraft comes and collects Sally's body. I try not to watch. I watch the sun sink towards the horizon. There are only seven people left. They'll probably start doing the interviews now. I wonder if they'll interview my family, to see how they think Marvel and I are holding up. I'm sure they'll interview Leo. I hope he can handle that. I'm sure he can. He's strong, just like his brother.

Does Calliope have any siblings? I struggle to recall her family heading into the Town Hall. I can remember her parents. She's a spitting image of her father, with his sandy hair. I remember a small boy, far too young to have his name entered in the Reaping. Probably too young to know what's happening to his sister right now. I can't help but compare Calliope's brother to Leo and Aella and Nicholas. I know how hard it was for Aella and Nicholas to watch our Games, knowing the slim chance I had of coming home. If Antonius dies, Leo will have no one. My eyes fill with tears. I blink them away before looking back at the screen.

Marvel stands up a few minutes after the arena is bathed in darkness. "I need to go down to the lobby and see about sponsors," he says. His tone is light, but I can see on his face that he doesn't want to go. He almost looks regretful, though I have no idea why.

I don't know what to say. One of us needs to stay here and watch, so I can't go with him. Gloss told him he was the one to go for sponsors, so I can't trade places with him. Gloss knows what he's doing, and I trust him. I nod slowly, searching his eyes.

He smiles at me, but his eyebrows are drawn together. "I'd rather just get it over with."

"All right," I say. "Good luck." He's good at talking to people. I'm sure he can get something for either Antonius or Calliope.

He gives me a long look, then walks slowly to the elevator. The doors slide closed, and I'm alone. None of the tributes are near each other, so I'm left to worry about Marvel. Why is he always so reluctant to go down there? It's obviously hard to see the people who play such a huge part in this nightmare that we have to live through, but we've handled worse. He's strong. He'll be fine. I wish that thought could stop my worrying.

Before I know it an hour has passed. I check the clock above the television constantly. Another hour slips by. Most of the tributes have settled down to sleep. Calliope has been sitting on the ground, staring at the dirt. She stands up and walks slowly away from the forest near the bridge. She settles down in a spot that's sheltered from the harsh wind, but not sheletered from approaching tributes. Luckily no one's near.

Antonius has found another crevice, this one elevated a bit. He's fast asleep. Broderick, still with the knife in his arm, didn't come over to investigate the screams of the Career tributes, so he didn't find Calliope. That's a relief. She's in no state to be fighting any other tributes.

I hear the elevator arrive half an hour later. I turn as Marvel crosses to the couch, running a hand through his hair. He slumps down beside me. He looks a lot better than he did when he left. Some of the colour has returned to his face.

"What happened down there? You were gone for a long time." I look at him hopefully.

"Look who's the one missing me now," he says, smiling at me.

I smile at him, glad to see the familiar gleam in his eyes when he teases me. "I figured either you'd gotten sponsors, or you'd met a pretty Capitol girl and weren't coming back up here."

His face pales, and the smile drops from his face like a rock. He stares at me.

I correct myself quickly, wondering why he's looking like that. "I was only joking," I say hastily, and it's true. "I didn't mean anything. I'm sorry." I reach out and put a hand on top of his.

He takes my hand and smiles at me, looking horribly pale once again. "I know," he says, taking a shuddering breath and clasping my hand in both of his. "No one down there is anything compared to you," he says. "Nothing in the world is anything compared to you, Lily. I just want you to know that." His voice almost sounds sad, but the look in his eyes as he says it suggests otherwise. I could look at his eyes all day. They're the most beautiful dark green I've ever seen, and they're usually so full of humour and caring and love that my heart melts every time he looks at me.

I lean forward and wrap my arms around him, putting my forehead on his shoulder. He holds me close, and we stay like that for a long time. Eventually he pulls away and holds my shoulders at arms length so he can look at me. For a second, I swear it looks like there are tears in his eyes, but they disappear as he grins at me.

"Guess what I got downstairs?" he says.

"Sponsors?" I say hopefully.

He nods, the grin spreading. I beam back at him. "What did you get?"

"A man named Foster," he pauses, putting on a terrible imitation of a Capitol accent. "Would frankly be quite honoured to send Mr. Antonius Fennell some bread and cheese."

I squeeze his hand, his excitement mirrored on my face. Bread and cheese doesn't seem like much, but to a boy who's been eating nothing but leaves and roots for five days, it'll mean the world.

"You couldn't get anything for Calliope?" I ask. I try to make sure my tone isn't accusing. It's not his fault.

He shakes his head regretfully. "The plan worked out well, but she still hasn't killed anyone, or even run into anyone, really."

I nod. Of course. I forgot that although the plan worked out perfectly, and gave a huge advantage to both Antonius and Calliope, she still hasn't done anything that would be sponsor worthy. "That's all right," I say. "Antonius will be really happy to get the bread."

He nods. I can tell by his face that there's something else he needs to say. I wait, letting him choose the right words.

"Lily," he begins. "Down in the lobby, Foster, he, erm, told me that it's time we choose. Antonius or Calliope. Only one of them can come home."

My heart skips a beat. They're kids, living breathing humans, not the pair of socks you're going to wear for the day. "How are we supposed to choose?"

Marvel shrugs, looking as horrified as I feel. "It was just a suggestion from Foster," he says. "We can give it a few more days."

That sugggestion, though better than choosing now, only implies the impending death of one of them. It's been almost a week. The tributes are dwindling. What are the odds both of them will be alive in a few days?

I nod. "Let's do that, then. When are we sending Antonius the bread?"

He shrugs. "He's got one more meal left with the leaves, so maybe tomorrow?"

I nod, suggesting he sleeps. He agrees, lying down beside me. What is going on that he's so upset about? I don't even want to imagine the possibilities. I watch the dark turn to dawn with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.

**AN****: I hope you guys enjoyed that! The games are winding down... there are probably about three more arena chapters left. I hope the action is keeping you sustained, and that you like Antonius and Calliope. Like I said, though, don't get too attached. *Evil grin* Thanks for reading, I appreciate it so much. ****Please leave a review if you've been reading this! **


	19. Avalanche

**Marvel**

The morning sun is streaming through the windows when I wake up. Lily is sitting at the end of the couch at my feet, looking at the television. She looks over as I sit up. "Did you sleep well?" she asks.

I nod, stretching my arms above my head. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, really," she says. "At least not with Calliope and Antonius. The girl from five is dead."

I nod, trying to remember who that was. I can't. Does she have a family? What must they be going through right now? Exactly what I what I didn't want Aella and Nicholas to go through if Lily died. I push the thoughts from my mind, feeling the ever present guilt in my chest.

"Why don't you get some sleep?" I ask Lily. I know she stayed up longer than she needed to to let me sleep. I can see dark circles under her eyes.

She nods, and we trade places. I pull the blanket up to her shoulders and shut off the lights. It's still bright since the windows have no curtains, but I'm sure she's tired enough that she'll sleep easily.

After a few minutes of silence, Lily's voice startles me. I'd assumed she had fallen asleep. "Are we going to send Antonius the bread?"

I nod slowly. "I'll do that," I tell her.

"Okay," she says, lying back down. "I'm sure he'll be happy to get that."

"For sure," I say. He's lost weight in the arena, just like every past tribute. His face looks gaunt, but he's still able to hike, so the leaves must be sustaining him. We need him to be as strong as he can for the inevitable fight with whatever tribute he runs into next.

I glance at the panel of buttons next to the elevator. All I need to do is push the blinking one, the one that indicates that we have a sponsor, and within a minute or two Antonius will receive a parachute. I don't have to go down to the lobby or anything, but the idea of having anything to do with anyone down there puts an unpleasant feeling in the pit of my stomach. Up here with Lily, it's easy to pretend that they don't exist, but Snow's demand still hangs like a dark cloud over my head.

I still haven't told Lily, and I don't know if I should. I'm sure it would be much more unpleasant for her to find out on her own, but she's already got so much on her mind that I would hate to drop that on her. I look at her, lying beside me. She's asleep now, curled up under the plaid blanket. The blanket has slipped down a bit and I pull it up to her shoulders, then brush a piece of hair behind her ear. For the first time I feel relief about Snow's demand. I'm already eighteen, almost ninteen. He could've made me start my favours now. That thought makes puts so many emotions into my mind. Sickness. Anger. Fear. I still have another year before I need to do anything. Another year with Lily.

I walk over to the elevator, careful to avoid the coffee table in the half light, and push the blinking button. It turns red for a second, then fades. I walk back over to the couch and sit down carefully.

Antonius is on the screen, walking through the woods, one of his two remaining knives clutched in his left hand. The other one is on his belt. The parachute floats down a few feet in front of him, and he looks around before walking over to it, as if expecting a trap. He bends over and lifts it off the pine needle strewn ground, then walks for a ways before opening it. He lifts out a loaf of bread, which I recognize from back home, and half a block of cheese. He stares at it as if not believing his eyes, then looks up towards the sky and mouths the words "thank you."

The camera cuts away from him as he continues walking, putting the bread in his backpack. I look at the map in the top corner. Antonius is a few miles away from Calliope, but he's headed in her direction.

I watch for a long time. An avox comes in with lunch, but sees Lily sleeping and walks out again, probably knowing that we like to eat together. A few minutes after that Lily stirs and rolls over, then sits up.

The avox comes back in with lunch. I brief Lily on what happened while we eat. Antonius eats a slice of bread, but no more. He's saving it, not knowing how long he has left in the arena.

Lily suggests that I sleep, and I agree. I'm exhausted. I lie down where she was.

I'm running through a familiar forest, though I can't tell where it is. Exhaustion causes my feet to stumble on the uneven terrain, but adrenaline pumps through my veins. My feet seem to know where they're going. Fog floats a few inches off the ground, making it hard to see my feet. I trip over a fallen log, ripping the knees of my pants and scraping my hands. For the first time I look behind me.

There's nothing there except the ever thickening blanket of fog, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm not alone. A branch cracks somewhere nearby and I jump. Who else is here? I try to stand up but fall back to my knees, unable to bear my own weight. I sit there for a moment, the fog rising higher around me. There aren't any other noises, but I'm now positive that there's someone else here. And they're close. I struggle to my knees again, using my hands to push myself to my feet.

Another branch snaps and I turn around. A lone cougar stands there, and for the first time, I realize where I am. The arena.

I turn around again, heart racing, but everything is moving slowly. I try to start running but I feel like I'm in sand. The fog is rising, now well past my waist. One thought echoes in my mind_. I'm going to die. _

I pick up speed as I run, but I'm still moving so slowly. The urge to look behind me is overwhelming and I turn around, wasting precious energy. The cougar is sitting, watching me. I've definitely moved, but it doesn't seem like it has. It stands up, arching its back and baring its teeth. I turn back around and try to run. I can move faster now. The fog is draining like water out of a bath tub, disappearing into the ground, which seems to be absorbing it like a sponge. I stumble over another fallen branch as a clearing appears before me. It's dark, and the Cornucopia glints in the moonlight. I run for it.

As I draw closer, now able to run at full speed, a lone figure appears on top. My heart races. I can't run into anyone. I'm not in any sort of fighting condition. I'm about to stop and turn around, maybe take my chances with the cougar, until a beam of moonlight illuminates the person's face. Lily.

She points behind me and I turn around. More cougars are behind me, at least a dozen. I can see more coming out of the forest beside the Cornucopia, pouring into the clearing like a black wave. I'm almost there, almost to Lily, about to reach for her outstretched hand when she's pulled backwards. I look up in terror, struggling to see over the lip of the horn. Ajax, his face covered with blood as dark as the night sky, holds her by the back of her shirt. She kicks but can't reach. He grins at me, and I can see that several of his teeth are missing, black squares replacing the white that should be there. He drags her backwards, then shoves her over the side. The cougars rush around the side. I can hear her screaming, her scream mingling with Ajax's manical laugh. I try to run around to her side, but it once again feels like there's sand up to my knees. I hear a thump as Ajax jumps off the Cornucopia and lands behind me. I don't even care, all I want to do is get to Lily, but for some reason I turn around. He's still smiling, and I can now see that the black spots in his mouth aren't missing teeth but beetles, which are crawling out of his mouth and up his face. They cover his face and he falls to the ground, still laughing.

I turn and keep trying to run to Lily. I make it around the corner and see the cougars grouped around her still body. I can't make it closer than ten feet, something prevents me from reaching her. I scream and strain against the invisible barrier. She gets to her knees, and my heart swells with hope. It all disappears as she falls forward, landing on the hard ground. Her face is turned to me, her left cheek pressed to the ground. I can see a single tear trace its way down her cheek, despite how far back I am. "Why aren't you helping me?" she whispers. Her eyes are empty but still wide open as a cannon fires.

I sit straight up, heart pounding. A few feet away, at the foot of the couch, Lily turns to look at me, eyes wide. I struggle to put together what happened. "You - I thought - that cannon -"

She looks at me in confusion. "It wasn't Antonius or Calliope," she says, still looking confused at my sudden outburst. "It was the girl from nine."

"I was dreaming," I say slowly, still finding it hard to talk. "I thought the cannon was you."

"It's wasn't," she says quietly, worry putting a crease between her eyebrows. "We're safe now, remember?"

I nod. My heart is still racing. I try to relax, telling myself that it was just a dream, but knowing what's in store for Antonius and Calliope does nothing to calm me. I sit up and reach for Lily's hand, holding on to convince myself that she's all right. She moves and sits closer to me, leaning her head on my shoulder.

We don't talk, but I don't let go of her hand. She doesn't ask about the nightmare. We never ask each other. It's no easier to talk about it, especially when I know that talking about the arena will just upset her. The boy from twelve, who killed the girl from nine, is still staring at her motionless body. He shields his eyes with his hand and looks towards the summit of the mountain. Something that sounds like thunder echoes across the arena.

I focus on the screen. The rumbling is increasing in volume. I try to place the sound. I've heard it before, but not on this scale. This is far louder. The connection seemingly comes from nowhere. When I was young, no older than six, my father was shovelling the snow off the roof of our house. After losing my mother, he didn't like to let me out of his sight too often, and I was happy to tag along, playing in the snow drifts by the side of the house. He didn't throw any of the snow off, just loosened it with his shovel. Soon after he called down to me, telling me to back up, away from the house. I did, watching him. He told me to clap on the count of three. He counted, and I clapped with him. We watched, him from his safe perch on the apex of the roof and me from my snow drift a dozen metres from the house, as all the snow poured off, making a much quieter but very similar sound to what I hear now. An avalanche. The boy on screen seems to have made this connection as well, because he turns and runs towards the base of the mountain, at least a mile below him. I know right away that he'll never make it. It's too far, and the terrain is dangerous, with the cliffs and loose rocks.

The camera pans out, and I can see the avalanche. It's a good distance away from the boy, but it's moving fast. It engulfs one tribute and a cannon fires. The boy is running as fast as he can, but after less than thirty seconds, the avalanche overtakes him. He's buried too fast to even scream.

Below him, the final tribute on the stricken mountain is running. She stops at a cliff, looking down at the clear blue water. It's got to be at least a forty foot drop. She glances behind her. The avalanche is coming, and it's fast. She looks up at the sky, takes a deep breath, and dives off the cliff. The avalanche pours over the cliff, and a cannon fires. I wonder whether it was the impact of the water or the rushing snow that killed her.

Lily leans back. "Whoa," she says. "Three tributes in less than a minute. The audience isn't going to like that."

I nod my agreement. That's unbelievable. Was that planned by the Gamemakers? I doubt it. They prefer when the tributes have to fight.

The sun is sinking towards the horizon outside of the apartment window. Darkness settles in on the mountain, and the camera turns to Antonius. He's about half a mile from Calliope, hiding in a rock crevice. He pulls off one of his boots, and my stomach turns. His toes are almost all purple, and the very ends of them are completely black. He touches one of them and winces, putting his boot back on. He pulls his ski goggles over his eyes and leans back against the rock wall. The goggles are laced with cracks, but the glass is still intact. He eats a slice of bread and leans back against the wall.

He looks up in surprise when the anthem plays and the faces of the dead appear in the sky. The sound of the avalanche drowned out the cannons. There are only four left; him, Calliope, Broderick and the girl from seven. I wonder for the first time what would happen if it came down to Antonius and Calliope. Surely they wouldn't want to fight each other? I try to push the thought from my mind. I suggest that Lily sleep. I'm not tired, and I'm not eager to sleep after my dream. She agrees, lying down.

I stand up so that I can pull the blanket up for her. She lies on her side, looking at me. I sit down on the coffee table. "I'm so scared, Marvel," she says.

I nod. She's voicing exactly what I'm thinking. What are we going to have to watch in the next few days? How are we supposed to handle this? "Me too," I say.

**AN:**** I hope you liked it. Please review :) A bit of a filler, but the action is coming in the next two chapters. I'll post the next one within a day or two. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Pain

**Marvel**

I continue watching through the night. Gloss told us that someone always needs to be watching, and though the urge to lie down with Lily, to hold her in my arms and sleep beside her is overwhelming, I keep watching. Gloss is right, of course. At this point in the Games, with so few remaining, the Gamemakers are even more likely to force the tributes together.

The tributes are awake at dawn, beginning to hike or eat as the sun rises and lightens the grey hues that are the arena. I study the map. Broderick is a good distance away, towards the base of the mountain. Antonius is higher up, about half a mile from Calliope. The girl from seven is close to Calliope, but they're heading in opposite directions.

I let Lily continue sleeping, feeling wide awake. The girl from seven stops after a few hundred metres and squints up at the sun. She turns around, now headed directly towards Calliope, who is walking towards her. I can tell that neither of them is aware of the other one. Antonius is headed in their general direction, down the mountain. I'm guessing the air up higher is too thin for him to breathe. As the gap between seven and Calliope closes, I bite my lip so hard I taste blood. _Someone turn around!_ Antonius is getting close as well. Are we going to lose both of them in one fight? Would they kill each other? And Broderick, far down on the mountain, but hiking slowly upwards, will he win? The gap continues closing. Calliope and seven are only a few hundred feet away from each other. I glance over at Lily's sleeping form. Her face looks relaxed, so unlike the tension I can always see in it while we watch. Should I wake her?

The television emits a small beep, alerting me that one of our tributes' dots is blinking, signifying that they're within fifty feet of another tribute. It's Calliope. I put myself in Lily's shoes. She'd be angry if she missed this, whatever the outcome. We promised to get through this together. I reach over and gently shake her shoulder.

She sits up instantly, looking panicky. "What's going on?" She's not even fully awake, already focusing her eyes on the screen.

"Seven is about to have a run in with Calliope. Antonius is right nearby." She nods slowly, still looking at the screen. I know what she'd see if she looked at me. Fear, as clear as day. I pull my eyes off her and look at the screen.

It's still early, and weak rays of sunlight glint off the snow. Antonius is still hiking down the mountain.

The camera turns back to Calliope. She's walking slowly, holding her knife by her side. Her dot continues flashing. I feel like it's pulsating in time with my pounding heart. The camera cuts to the girl from seven, who has a huge gash across her face. Her brown hair is matted with blood. She carries an axe and a backpack. Ski goggles perch on her head. She stops and unzips her backpack, pulling out a handful of berries. She sits on a rock to eat them.

I look at the map. The two dots labelled with ones are both red now, blinking in sync. Antonius is only a short ways away, and Calliope is mere feet from the other girl. She finishes eating and stands up, grabbing her axe.

My heart is pounding so hard I'm sure that Lily can hear it. Calliope is good with the knife. Maybe she can win. She looks up as she hears a footstep. The girl pushes past a thick evergreen branch, seeing Calliope for the first time.

Unlike some of the other tributes, there's no second of hesitation. She rears back her axe and throws it at Calliope, hitting her in the chest. Calliope screams. It's the most horrible sound I've ever heard. It's my fault.

A couple dozen feet away, Antonius looks up. His eyes widen as the scream grows louder. I know he knows exactly who it is. I can see so many emotions in his eyes. Fear. Sadness. Regret. Pain. He breaks into a run, tearing through the forest towards the sound of Calliope's screams.

He breaks through the trees, a knife held in throwing position by his side. The girl from seven turns as he snaps a branch, fumbling for a knife out of her belt. Antonius barely even aims, just throws his knife at her. His aim, as always, is lethal. She crumples to the ground, the knife sticking out of her forehead. A cannon fires.

He runs to Calliope, dropping to his knees beside her. She looks at him. I can tell that she's almost gone. "Run," she whispers. Blood soaks the ground around her. "Please, tell my parents that-" she takes a shuddering breath, the life leaving her eyes. I look away and put my head in my hands. A cannon fires, but I can't bear to look. I know that I'm shaking, but I don't care. Somewhere deep down, I feel relief. Relief that Calliope won't have to fight with Antonius. Relief that she's dead. What have I become? I bite my cheek to keep from sobbing. I bite it so hard that I taste blood.

Beside me, Lily puts her head on her knees, her shoulders shaking. I look back at the screen. "You can look now," I say. "She's safe." Her body hasn't been collected, but she's in a better place now. It's easy to say that, but it's not where she should be. She should be at home, playing with her little brother, going to school, playing with her friends. No one should have to go through this.

**Lily**

Although the thought of looking at the screen terrifies me, the image of what I just saw permanent as a scar on the back of my eyelids, I go over Marvel's words in my head. She's safe. I look up, meeting his eyes. We look at each other for a moment. I can clearly see the pain in his eyes, along with something else that I can't place, but it's reassuring none the less.

Antonius is still sitting next to her, staring at the gaping wound in her stomach. He takes one of her hands, looking down at it. Her body looks so small, her dirty blonde hair spread to one side of her head. Why did I never get to know her? Is it because of what I knew was bound to happen? Guilt rushes through me. What must her family be going through right now? Marvel confirmed that she did have a little brother. I don't know his name, but I do know that he's now an only child. I choke down a sob, the guilt rushing through me.

On the screen, Antonius stands up, looking horribly pale. He walks over to the body of the other girl. His knife is in her forehead, and he reaches down to grab it. He holds onto it for a moment, then gives it a gentle tug. Blood oozes from the wound, and there's some sort of cruching noise that makes me feel sick. Antonius turns and throws up at the base of a tree. He staggers away, leaning his forehead on another tree. His shoulders shake. He stands there for a minute, then turns around. Tears run down his cheeks. He makes no move to brush them away, and I feel a glimmer of admiration. He leaves the knife, takes a last glance at Calliope, and leaves the clearing.

As he walks away, I can see something different about him. Maybe it's in the way he walks. He seems determined. Weakened, yes, but determined. He takes the last knife out of his belt. I hope he can make it count.

Marvel stands up. "I need to go," he says shakily. "Do you want to come?"

I nod. I don't know if I could speak if I tried. He offers me his hand, pulling me off the couch. I follow him to the elevator. He pushes the button for the fourteenth floor, the floor with the greenhouse, with a shaking hand. We ride in silence. The elevator slows before we reach the greenhouse, and we exchange a glance. It slows to a stop at floor seven and the doors open, revealing a woman. She's tall and athletic looking. She wipes her eyes and looks up as she steps in. I can see the surprise on her face when she sees us. She moves her hand away from her eyes and smirks at us.

"That was quite a shot," she says. "I have to say I was pretty impressed, even if he did kill my tribute. Did you teach him that?"

I stare at her, my mouth hanging open. Marvel composes himself first. "No," he says. "He learned that all on his own."

She nods. "I'm Johanna," she says.

"I'm Marvel," Marvel says. "This is Lily."

"I know all about you two," she says. There's something about her tone that I don't like. "Everyone knows all about you two." She chuckles, stepping into the elevator and pushing the lobby button. "Where are you headed?" I don't like the way she's looking at Marvel. Something in her eyes isn't right. I could've sworn I saw tears glistening in them when she stepped in, but they're gone now, if they were ever there.

"The lobby," I say, when Marvel doesn't answer. I don't want her knowing about the greenhouse. That was our special place to get away from everything.

"So you _can_ talk," Johanna says, looking me up and down. We begin our descent, but I don't take my gaze off hers.

"Yes," I say. The elevator seems to be going extra slowly today.

"You two are all the talk down in the lobby. Do you have any sponsors?"

I look at Marvel. "Yes," he tells her. "We've already sent it to Antonius."

She nods. "I'll tell you guys a secret," she says, leaning in close. Too close, especially to Marvel. She's practically resting her chin on his shoudler. "No one's really had any sponsors this year. A bunch of people pooled their money together to send the boy from six-" she pauses. "What's his name?"

"Broderick," I supply.

"Right," she says. "They all pooled to send him that fancy auger. He's really popular down there." She pauses for a second, then looks at Marvel. "So are you," she says. "Has Snow given you the special talk?" Her voice is dripping with sarcasm.

She raises her eyebrows when Marvel doesn't answer. What talk? He turns to face her, shaking his head quickly.

For a second she looks confused, then she grins. "Oh, so you're not telling her," she says, gesturing at me. Not telling me what?

The elevator comes to a gentle stop and the doors slide open, revealing the lobby. "Good luck," she says. She winks, yes, _winks_, then vanishes into the crowd to cries of "Johanna!"

"What was she talking about?" I ask Marvel as soon as she's gone.

"I'm not sure," he says, scanning the crowd. "Should we try for some sponsors?"

"Sure," I say. It's pretty obvious that he changed the subject, but I don't mention it. I'd rather just go back upstairs, but people have already seen us. A man approaches us, his face tattooed with swirling lines. One stretches from his cheek to above his eyebrow. It reminds me of the cut that Hugo gave me last year. I run the hand that isn't holding Marvel's along the spot on my face, feeling the faint scar.

"Marvel!" the man cries, throwing his arms out. He holds a glass in one hand, and pink liquid sloshes over the rim of the cup, pooling on the floor at his feet. "So good to see you again!" He looks at me. "And you brought Lily this time!"

I smile at him and he grins back at me. "I'm so sorry about Calliope," he says. "At least Antonius is still going strong!" He's loud, even over the murmur of the crowd. "I paid good money for that auger. I hope Broderick makes good use of it!" He claps Marvel on the back, then grabs my hand and kisses it. He melts into the crowd. I can feel Marvel's hand shaking as the man vanishes.

My head is spinning. He's not even cheering for Antonius. Everyone just wants to see Broderick use his stupid auger. I feel sick to my stomach. Marvel is looking at me in concern. He looks like I feel. Sick. Terrified.

"Can we go back upstairs?" I ask. It comes out as a whisper.

"Of course," he says. We turn towards the elevator, but two girls step out of the crowd. I clutch his hand. They greet him loudly. One girl has lavender hair with corkscrew curls. The girl with her has the blondest hair I've ever seen, and it's ruler straight.

Marvel smiles at them, but to me it looks more like a grimace. He looks annoyed. I'm probably imagining it. The first girl, the one with the curls, turns to me. "Lily! So nice to finally meet you," she says, looking me up and down and making me as uncomfortable as I was in the elevator. "I'm Palmer." She smiles at me, but she doesn't look pleased to see me. There's almost an icy look in her eyes.

I smile at her. Her eyes flicker to my hand, my fingers still entwined with Marvel's, and something flashes across her face. I can't place it. Once again, I'm probably just imagining things.

No one says anything about Calliope, and I'm grateful. I don't want to talk about that. We all make small talk for a few minutes. Palmer's eyes keep flicking to our hands. I keep waiting for Marvel to drop mine, if she's so upset about it, but he doesn't. I feel a small blossom of relief.

Marvel has stopped talking to Palmer, though she still stands there. Juliana, as she introduced herself, is now talking. "Can I borrow her for a minute?" she asks Marvel, gesturing to me and twirling a piece of her hair between her fingers. I don't know if I imagine it or not, but Marvel's grip on my hand seems to tighten. He nods slowly, then releases my hand.

I follow Juliana through the crowd, leaving Marvel with Palmer. People who I've never met yell greetings to me. I smile awkwardly at them all. No wonder Gloss wants Marvel to do the interacting. She leads me to a set of couches and sits down. I sit down across from her on a chair.

"I'm honestly so honoured to meet you," she gushes, as if I'm some sort of celebrity. I guess Victors are the closest things they have to celebrities here. "I love your top! That is too cute."

"Thanks," I say. I just grabbed it off the top of the pile of clothes in the dresser in my room upstairs, but there's no need to tell her that. "I love your shoes," I answer, looking at the bright orange heels that must be at least six inches high. They're certainly the first thing that caught my eye. I have no idea how she walks in them.

She looks down. "These are nothing," she says, brushing off the compliment but smiling. "I just wanted to say how much I loved your interview dress," she says. "That was the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen."

"I loved it," I lie, remembering how short it was. I can feel heat rise to my face at the memory. "My stylist designed it." To me, it seems like nothing compared to the elaborate styles of the Capitol.

"It was just incredible. You looked gorgeous."

"Thank you," I say. It's hard trying to keep up a conversation with these people. Luckily, she seems to be able to do it on her own.

We talk for a while more, but I'm more interested in the huge screen above her head, which is showing the Games. Antonius and Broderick are a fair distance apart. Broderick still has the knife in his arm, and he's sharpening his auger on a rock. He looks angry, though I'm not sure why. I note with satisfaction that the knife is making it hard to move his arm. I can see that he's trying not to look as if he's in pain. Someone who's not a Victor might not be able to pick it out, but I can. It's the face I tried to make the whole time, even after what happened with the cougar. I didn't do a very good job.

Eventually she turns around to see what I'm looking at. She sees Broderick sharpening his auger. "That boy is crazy," she gushes. "I love it."

I don't have anything to say to that. "It's so hard," she continues. "I have no idea who I want to win. Broderick is such a bad boy, but Antonius is so smart and good looking." She sighs.

I almost scoff. Bad boy? What's that even supposed to mean? I look at Antonius. I suppose he is good looking, with his lion's mane of curly brown hair, but I've never thought of him like that. He's always just been Antonius; funny, good natured, kind. He's like a younger brother to me. I think of Palmer, of the way she looks at Marvel. I don't want that to happen to Marvel, of course, but I also don't want it to happen to Antonius, should he be crowned Victor. He has to win though, before I can worry about that.

"Antonius only has one knife left," I say, hoping that she realizes I'm hinting at sponsors. "I hope he can make it count."

She looks at me. "I hope he does too," she says. Either she didn't realize what I was hinting at, or she's not interested in sponsoring. It's probably one of her parents who pays for the sponsors, anyway. She opens her mouth again, but it falls into an unsightly circle as she stares at something over my shoulder.

I turn around, and a man smiles at me. I recognize him. I've seen him on television. I struggle to recall his name. Finnick. Finnick Odair. Which Games did he win? I think it was the 65th or 66th.

He sits down on the armrest of my chair, putting his arm around around my shoulders. I try not to let my spine go rigid, even though I'm extremely uncomfortable. "It's so nice to see a fresh face down here," he says. "I'm Finnick."

"I'm Lily," I say. Juliana is blushing, her cheeks as red as tomatoes. He nods his head at her, and she looks as if she's on the verge of passing out.

"Could I talk to Lily for a moment, Juliana?"

She nods far too quickly and practically jumps off the couch. He takes his arm from around my shoulders and sits where she was sitting. He looks at me intently, and I can feel my face burning.

I look at the screen above his head. They seem to be showing some highlights. That's a good sign, since it means that they're not planning on forcing Broderick and Antonius together. At least not yet. As I watch the reruns, I can see Broderick receiving a huge parachute. He opens it, revealing the auger. A group of people standing by the screen cheer. It cuts to him walking through the forest, then coming face to face with a small girl. She has no weapons, and he doesn't hesitate, plunging the auger into her stomach and twisting. He twists it so slowly. That's just inhumane. I look away, feeling as if I'm going to be sick. Antonius is going to face this monster. The people under the screen are still cheering, yelling encouragement to him. The camera cuts back to real time. I resist the urge to put my head in my lap and block out the world.

Antonius has stopped hiking and is eating some berries off a bush. "Antonius is doing very well," Finnick says, and I'm forced to pull my gaze from the screen. I can see something in his eyes, something that's not making me feel uncomfortable. Pity? I don't want him pitying me. I try to wipe all the emotions off my face. It's hard, especially after what I just watched.

"He is," I agree. "He's not very popular compared to Broderick."

"I'll let you in on a little secret," he says, leaning close. Too close. Just like Johanna. What is it with these people? He puts his hand on my knee. He's so close I can feel his breath on my face. I don't move back. I feel like that would be backing down, as if this is some sort of test. "I'm cheering for Antonius."

"Me too," I say, giving a nervous laugh.

He laughs, and I feel someone sit on the armrest of my chair and take my hand. Finnick moves back to a normal position, sliding his hand off my knee. "Marvel," he says.

"Finnick. What were you guys talking about?"

"Antonius," I answer. "We should probably go upstairs and see what the situation is," I say. I just want to leave.

Marvel nods. "That's a good plan. Can I take her, Finnick?" I can hear an edge of something in his voice.

"Of course," Finnick says. "She's all yours. Bye, Lily."

"Bye," I say. "It was nice talking with you," I add, even though it's a lie.

**AN: The next chapter will be the last one set in this arena.**** I'm hoping for 4 reviews before I post! ****Sorry for leaving off at such an awkward place, I really had no other way to do it. **


	21. Finale

**AN: I'm sure some of you may have noticed that I've posted this twice. That's because the first time after I posted it I realized that it sucked and some changes needed to be made. I hope it's better this time. Enjoy! **

**Marvel**

I lead Lily through the crowd, away from Finnick. I didn't like the way he was talking to her. I've never seen her look that uncomfortable. She's pale as a sheet, though I'm not sure why. I stop out of earshot of Finnick and turn to her. "Are you alright?" I ask her, brushing her hair out of her eyes.

She shakes her head, her eyes filling with tears. I can see Finnick watching us from the couch. I turn her around so that my back is to him, blocking her from his view. "What did he say to you?" I ask. If he did anything to hurt her... I'm thinking of the things I could do to him when she answers.

"Broderick," she says, her voice shaking. "He took so long to - to kill that girl. Antonius is going to have to face him. He's a monster." A tear rolls down her cheek. I brush it away with my thumb.

"I know," is all I can think of to say. I remember watching that. I was so grateful that Lily was asleep. I'd never thought far ahead enough to imagine either Calliope or Antonius fighting him. "I'm hoping that Antonius can shoot him from a distance." I pull her to me, kissing the top of her head and trying to comfort her.

"He only has one knife," Lily says, looking up at me. "What if he misses?"

I don't know how to answer that. I take her hand, leading her through the crowd. She can't have a full meltdown here. The doors of the elevator slide closed and we ride in silence. I'm sure there's a camera in here.

When the doors slide open, Lily follows me to the couch, then sits down beside me. My thoughts are all over the place.

I glance at the screen. Antonius is walking, but Broderick is going in the opposite direction. They're not that far apart, maybe half a mile. Antonius clutches his last knife so hard that his knuckles are white. I couldn't get a single sponsor, not even from Palmer. The thought of her makes me sick. I push her from my mind and turn to Lily. She's staring at her lap.

"You were talking to some sponsors, right?" I ask her. I know that Juliana's parents are wealthy, so maybe she managed to get something.

She doesn't answer, just stares at her lap, pulling a thread out of one of the cushions on the couch.

"Lily?"

"What?" I can almost see the thoughts leaving her dark eyes like water down a drain. She looks at me. Her voice sounds almost panicked. What was she thinking about? On second thought, I know the answer to that.

"You were talking to some sponsors, right?" I repeat. "Down in the lobby?"

She nods. "I was, but she wasn't interested in sponsoring. She was more interested in checking out Antonius and Broderick."

"Don't worry," I say. It's not her fault about being unable to get sponsors. The girls down there, with their shallow ways, are far too familiar to me.

"Did your talk with Palmer go well?"

I clench my fists. "Yes," I say. "She wasn't interested in sponsoring either." All she wanted to do was talk about Lily. She was prying, asking why we spend so much time together, if we're still dating. If I love her.

I avoided answering all of those questions, refusing to talk about anything other than sponsors with her and trying to turn the topic to Antonius and his lone knife. She wouldn't go for the bait. This time, when she got too close, I took such an obvious step back that you'd have to be blind not to have noticed it.

Lily looks back down at her lap, twisting her fingers nervously. I take one of her hands in both of mine, just like I did in our arena, and hold it there. I can feel her shaking. She looks at me and I give her the most reassuring look I can. "It's going to be all right," I say, hoping that it's not a lie. I don't let go of her hand as we watch, because I need the reassurance as much as she does.

Antonius is walking quickly, but he's walking parallel to Broderick, from what I can see on the map. We're so close. _So. Close_. I grit my teeth. Antonius has never missed a shot in the training centre. Surely he won't miss this one.

We watch in silence, until the sun, barely visible through the gathering fog, reaches its peak in the sky. Antonius is still walking. I wonder briefly if he's headed somewhere. I don't think so, I think he just likes to be moving.

He's climbing over the top of a rock outcrop when he freezes in his tracks. The camera pans out, and my heart turns over. On the other side of the rock wall stands a pack of white and grey dogs. He stands there for a second, staring down at them. I try to take a better look. They're not dogs, but something that looks awfully close to a wolf.

"Mutts?" Lily asks. I can tell from her tone that she's as sure about the answer as I am.

"I'm assuming so," I say, the fear like an anvil in my chest. They might not be any different from a normal wolf, but they're trained to kill. Of that, I'm sure. Lily squeezes my hand so hard it hurts.

Antonius stands a good six or eight feet about the wolf mutts. One of them lets out a howl, and he staggers backwards. He catches his foot on the edge of the outcrop. He stretches out his arms, looking for something to grab onto. There's nothing but air. He falls backwards. It's only about seven feet, but he lands on his back on solid rock.

He stands up, looking more shaken than hurt. The camera cuts to the mutts, and I can see that one of them has its front paws on the top of the rock where Antonius was standing. He rubs his back, looking at the top of the outcropping. One of the mutts howls, taking a running leap. It manages to land its front paws up, but can't get a grip. It won't be long before it can.

Antonius, obviously thinking the same thing, turns and runs. I look at the map. He's headed straight for Broderick, and that's when I know. This is the finale.

My heart is racing as the camera cuts to Broderick. I wish one of the mutts would kill him, but I know that would never happen. He's walking, heading in such a direction that he would cut across Antonius's path. He looks up as one of the mutts howls. It's a fair ways away, but it echoes loudly across the almost empty arena. He keeps walking.

The first mutt has managed to climb onto the outcropping, and the other mutts follow suit. Some of the shorter ones can't make it, but there are plenty of others to take their places.

Antonius is still running, stumbling over rocks and crevices, gasping on the thin mountain air. The camera cuts back as the first mutt lands on the other side of the outcrop, tearing off into the forest. The thin air doesn't seem to affect it. It'll catch Antonius in no time. He keeps running.

The mutt gains in a matter of seconds, far less than a minute. Antonius glances over his shoulder and sees it, putting on a burst of speed. He breaks thorugh a clearing, looking around wildly. He's at the top of a cliff, and for a second I think he's doomed. Then I see it. About a quarter mile away, the tallest suspension bridge swings in the faint breeze. It's battered from the avalanche, and some of the planks hang loosely, dangling over the abyss. He sprints for it.

The mutt stops, allowing the others to catch up - and allowing Antonius to escape. The Gamemakers obviously don't want to kill him. Not yet. They're saving that task for Broderick.

As if reading my mind, the camera cuts to Broderick. He's near the bridge, a few feet into the forest. He steps into the open and looks around. My heart stops. He sees Antonius, running as fast as he can up the mountain towards the safety of the bridge. He's about to step out to where Antonius will see him, until he looks across the bridge. Several wolves wait on the other side. He steps back into the forest and spins his auger, watching and waiting.

Antonius, who is now only two dozen feet away from Broderick, still doesn't see him. He tears past Broderick, one of the mutts a few dozen feet behind him. They seem to be slowing down, letting Broderick be involved in the final fight. Broderick waits until he passes, then runs onto the bridge after him. The mutts stop at the very edge, trapping them both.

Antonius runs, careful where he puts his feet. He doesn't look up until he's halfway across the bridge. He sees the mutts at the other end and stops, gasping for breath. He spins around, eyes wild. He's greeted by the sight of Broderick, now a quarter of the way across the bridge.

His eyes widen. I've never seen anyone look so terrified. He stumbles backwards, his foot catching in a loose plank. He falls backwards.

Broderick laughs. "Nice," he says. Antonius scrambles to his feet. "Looks like it's just you and me now."

Antonius is glaring at him. His eyes drift towards the knife in his arm and the lethal auger in his hands. He grips his last knife. He doesn't look anxious to use it.

"Why don't you just kill me?" Broderick says, still moving ever closer. The camera pans out, and I can see a view of the bridge from halfway across the abyss. Antonius and Broderick are just small specks, framed against the white winter sky. Antonius is halfway across the bridge, and Broderick is a quarter of the way across. He's closing the gap slowly. Dragging it out. "I know you're quite a shot with those things."

Antonius finally speaks. "Where'd you get that? That auger."

"Sponsors," Broderick says, smirking. "I own them a good finale. I'm going to make sure to drag it out, especially after this." He holds his left arm aloft, gesturing to the knife.

Antonius is still backing up. He glances over his shoulder. The mutts still wait at the edge of the bridge. "I have one question," Broderick says, and Antonius turns back towards him. "Did you kill the girl from seven?"

Antonius has stopped moving. "So what if I did?"

"I just wanted to know if you're as weak as you seem," Broderick says. He's only about fifteen feet away from Antonius. Why isn't he throwing the knife? I grit my teeth. _Throw it! _

"I'm not weak," Antonius says. "But you are."

Broderick laughs. It echoes through the abyss. "_I'm_ weak? Last time I checked, you'd only killed one person. I've killed five."

"That doesn't make you strong," Antonius says. He lets the knife slide through his fingers so that it's no longer in a throwing position. "That makes you a murderer."

I gasp. Lily's sitting so far forward on the couch that she's about an inch from falling off. Even Broderick can't hide his surprise. He raises his eyebrows, but doesn't say anything.

Antonius is walking towards Broderick now, his knife held at his side. "I'm a murderer," he says quietly. "You're a murderer." His voice is getting louder. He tilts his head back and screams at the sky. "You're all murderers!" He shouts the last sentence. All his fear is replaced by rage. He's just feet from Broderick. He grabs the blade of his knife and I think he's about to throw it, but he rears back and throws it off the side of the bridge. "She didn't deserve this! No one deserves this! You've turned me into a murderer. I'm no better than you are!" His head is still tilted back, and he's screaming to the sky.

Broderick has replaced his shock with a smirk. Antonius turns his anger to him. "Kill me! Just kill me!"

I hear a distant rumbling, but Broderick and Antonius don't seem to notice it. Antonius is still yelling at Broderick. "Kill me, you coward! Kill me!" He spreads his arms, laughing. "I've turned into a lunatic. A murderer. Kill me now, Broderick, but just remember: you're a murderer. You've killed children. Less than them, sure," he says, gesturing towards the sky, "but children none the less." His anger seems to dissipate, and sadness seeps into the green eyes that I know so well. I've seen so many emotions in them, the sadness after the earthquake, the regret as he threw knife after knife in the training centre, knowing where his skills were taking him, fear as he pleaded with me to make sure Leo didn't have to train. Laughter, too. Laughter as he joked with me, with Leo, with Lily. Now, though, all I can see is sadness, a sort of detached shock. He shakes his head slowly, looking down at the worn wood of the bridge, his eyes not focused on the dangling planks but on something only he can see. "They were kids," he says, though I'm not sure he's even talking to Broderick as much as he's talking to himself. "They were innocent."

The rumbling is loud now. Antonius looks behind Broderick, towards the top of the mountain they just came from. His eyes widen, but he doesn't look scared. "Looks like we're both going to die." He looks completely calm. "I'm sorry, Leo."

Broderick spins around. A wall of white is roaring over the tops of the trees. He doesn't have time to push past Antonius before the avalanche turns everything behind him white.

It's the extra fifteen feet between them that saves Antonius' life. As the bridge buckles under the weight of the avalanche, Antonius turns and runs for the other side. I guess he's not ready to die after all. He's a fighter. Somewhere in the background I can hear Broderick scream. The cameras are focused on Antonius, so I hear rather than see as Broderick's scream dies before it's completely developped. A cannon fires, but there's no Victor yet.

Antonius dives for safety, and for a second I think he's too far. I quickly scan the rock surface of the cliff face for the pack of wolf mutts. They're not there. The avalanche spills into the abyss, and the severed bridge swings towards the rock face. Somehow Antonius manages to get a grip on the edge of the rock face and pulls himself up with scraped and bloody hands. He collapses onto the ground, gasping for breath. The speakers crackle, and I await the Victory announcement. Instead, I hear several panicked voices arguing. Antonius stands up warily, wiping a smear of blood across his forehead and looking towards the sky.

I can hardly hear any of the words over the speakers, but I catch a few. _Stop them. Victor. Impossible. Trained. _

I'm trying to piece this all together when the first wolf comes barrelling out of the trees, heading straight for Antonius.


	22. The Victor

**AN: This isn't so great. Sorry. **

Antonius' eyes widen and he jumps to his feet. He has no weapons. He glances his behind him, the abyss greeting him like a gaping mouth. The first wolf jumps at him as he spins back around, easily knocking him off his feet. He wrestles with the mutt, and I lose sight of him as the wolf pins him down. My heart leaps into my throat at the memory of Lily, pinned down by a cougar. More wolves come running out of the forest, and he's completely surrounded. I hear him scream, long and drawn out, and one of the wolves leans back, revealing a muzzle full of red against its white fur.

Beside me, Lily puts her head in her hands. "This can't be happening." Her voice is completely panic ridden.

I just keep staring at the screen. He won. He's the Victor. And now he's going to die. The wolves are still grouped around him, but he's not kicking at them anymore. It was a useless battle from the start.

The voices on the speakers have quieted, and the arena is silent except for the growls of the wolves. Antonius is motionless, though all I can see through the wolves are the ripped knees of his pants, the fabric dark against their white fur.

Hope still flickers in my chest like a candle being blown out. Lily turns to me slowly. She's just opening her mouth when a shrill noise echoes through the arena. We both jump. The wolves' ears prick up, and they all lean their heads back towards the white sky. One of them, the one with the stained muzzle, lets out a howl, long and low. The rest have turned their attention from Antonius to the howling beast. The sounds echoes again, and this time the one that was howling tears off into the forest. The rest stand there for a second, then follow suit, easily leaping over logs and branches and disappearing into the foliage.

Five seconds hasn't passed before a hovercraft descends and Capitol workers in spotless white lab coats group around Antonius. One shouts orders, pulling out a roll of gauze while the others lift Antonius' motionless body onto an orange stretcher. I can't see through the wall of white, but he must be alive if they're doing all this work to get him out. He has to be.

The stretcher is lifted into the hovercraft and it ascends slowly, disappearing from the lens of the camera. The camera that was trained on Antonius as he faced the mutts is still there, as if left unattended. I imagine whoever was controlling it running around franctically and yelling orders as a team of trainers prepares to round up the wolves. I shake my head to clear my thoughts.

I don't know how long we sit there, staring at the screen. Time seems to slip by in chunks of half an hour or an hour. The sun sinks. At some point I must've taken Lily's hand, because I feel her squeeze it as the elevator whirs. I turn around as if in a trance, and maybe I am. Everything is blurry for a second, then my eyes focus on an avox, standing in the elevator. I wait for him to do something, to give us a signal, but he just looks at us. Lily clears her throat. "Is he all right?" Her voice is tight with fear.

The avox gives us a single nod, then beckons us to follow him. I almost trip over Lily in my eagerness to stand up. I don't even care if we have to go down to the lobby, if we have to go do an interview, if we have to go round up the wolves ourselves. He won. He's alive. Leo won't be alone. _He won._ I shake my head in disbelief, stepping after Lily into the elevator. We go down a few floors, and I'm pretty sure we're underground. The doors part, revealing a spotless white hallway lit by flourescent lights. The avox gestures us to go out. I follow Lily, turning to the avox for instructions or directions, but the elevator doors have closed, taking the avox and leaving us alone. I exchange a glance with Lily. Rythmic beeping sounds from somewhere down the hall. It smells like sanitizer. Of course. A hospital.

A doctor steps out of a doorway a little ways down the hall, looks at us, then continues walking for a few steps before stopping and turning to look at us again. He seems to recognize us, because he turns and walks towards us, his white coat too large over his green doctor's uniform. He looks a little older than us, though not much, with a shock of sandy brown hair. He gives us a kind smile, but I know not to trust anyone here. "I'm Cam," he says. "I'm sure you two are looking for Antonius. He's just down here." He gestures for us to follow him, still talking. "He's doing very well. He's tired, of course, after all the surgery, but he'll be fine, I can assure you of that." He turns into the room that he came out of, and we follow him. He stops before a closed curtain. "I need to go process these forms," he says, waving a sheaf of papers at us, "but you can talk to him. Visiting hours are over, but you two are an exception." He smiles at us. "Congratulations, by the way." He says it as if we're new parents, as opposed to two teenagers who just lost one tribute and almost a second.

"Thank you," Lily says. She still looks pale, but certainly better than she did when we were waiting for any type of news.

He nods and smiles again. "No problem." His eyes seem to linger on her for longer than necessary. "I'll let you two go now." He backs out the door, greeting another doctor in the hall and then disappearing from my line of sight. "Should we go?" I ask Lily in a whisper, gesturing to the curtain.

She nods, and I pull back the curtain, following her through. Antonius's face lights up as he sees her. She smiles at him and walks over, hugging him awkwardly while trying to avoid the wires hooked up to him. There are tubes in his nose, an IV in the back of his hand, and several tubes that connect to his arms and neck, which are filled with red liquid. I'm no doctor, but I'm guessing that they had to give him more blood, after everything he lost. They had to do that for Lily too. They get the blood from the Districts. Each year around Christmas, every healthy citizen is required to give blood, which is sent to the Capitol.

I give Antonius a second awkward hug, then pull the two chairs in the curtained room over to the edge of the bed. Lily sits down and I sit beside her. Antonius gestures to his throat, then to the pitcher of water on the bedside cabinet. Lily pours a glass and then tips it carefully into his mouth. His wavy brown hair is matted with blood. I guess they haven't gotten around to washing that out yet. Several long cuts cover his face, some of them stitched up. His bottom lip is swollen, and one of his eyes seems to have popped a blood vessel, because the area around his pupil is bright red. His neck is wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, which is tinged red.

He sputters and chokes on the water, which is apparently difficult to swallow, and I'm about to call a doctor before he coughs up a lung or something, but he stops. Then, to my complete disbelief, he grins at us. It's not the grin that I'm used to, because I can see the pain in his eyes, but it's more than I managed after our arena. I don't think his pain is physical, because I'm sure they've given him lots of painkillers, but mental. I know the feeling. He pushes the blanket off him, a clear struggle, then tries to swing a leg out of bed, grabbing onto the pole holding his IV up. Lily jumps to her feet. "What are you doing?"

"I need to get my cake," he answers, taking a deep breath and looking like he's about to faint. He tries to stand up again, but Lily grabs his arm and gently makes him sit back down on the bed. She looks over at me, giving me a questioning look. Is he delirious?

"What cake, Antonius?" she asks gently, helping him untangle a wire from around his foot and lie back down.

"Cam, the doctor guy, he said I could have a piece of cake once the other doctors wouldn't come in and see me. He left it in that cupboard."

"I'll get it," she says, shooting me another look as she walks towards the cupboard. She opens it, and sure enough, a paper plate with a single slice of vanilla cake sits there. She grabs it and turns back to Antonius, putting it on his lap.

He takes a bite and leans back, smiling at us. "It was worth winning just for this."

I laugh. "Don't eat too much," I warn. I learned that the hard way. You can't eat a lot after starving for so long.

He nods, taking another bite. "Of course, sir." He grins at us. "Why couldn't you have sent me this in a parachute?"

I know he's joking, but it still hurts, remembering my hard time getting sponsors. "You're not good looking enough to get sponsors."

He laughs, then stops abruptly, as if he's forgotten how to do it. "I don't recall you being showered with them." He takes another bite of cake, then puts the rest on the stand beside his bed. He hasn't even eaten a quarter of it.

"We got one," I counter, happy that he's talking. "That must mean we're at least reasonably attractive." Everyone, even in the Districts, knows that the better looking tributes get more sponsors. The whole thing makes me feel sick.

"That was for Lily," he says. "Not you." He turns to Lily, who's sitting next to me by the bed. "You're lucky you're so pretty. Marvel would be nowhere without you."

Lily laughs, her nose crinkling in that way that I love so much. "I don't know about that," she says.

"Antonius is right," I say.

"That's a first," he says. He pauses, looking pensive. I'm waiting for him to say something serious, but instead he looks between us. "Do either of you know where I can get some chicken wings?"

Lily bursts out laughing, then covers her mouth, probably remembering that we're supposed to be being quiet. Antonius starts laughing, and I join in. It's not really that funny, but the relief is too much, and we laugh until there are tears pouring down our faces. One of the machines hooked up to Antonius starts beeping loudly, and I stop laughing. He doesn't, and reaches over and hits it a bunch of times"Will - you - shut - up?" He spaces each word with a weak slap on top of the machine. It seems to work, because the machine stops beeping. I don't know if that's a good thing or not. He seems drained of energy and leans back against the pillows, gasping for air but still smiling. Lily's still laughing a bit, and so am I. Antonius is reaching for the cake again, sending us into another laughing fit, but a plump nurse parts the curtains wildly, scolding Antonius for having the cake and shooing us out, saying we need to let him have his rest. He's reluctant to let us leave, but the nurse insists. We promise to see him in the morning. I grab Lily's hand as we walk down the hall, swinging them between us and feeling more relieved than I have in months.

**AN: Just curious, is there anything you guys would like me to write for their time in District One? Conversations between certain characters, activites, anything like that? What about some fluff with Marvel and Lily? Leave your answer in a review! **


	23. Home

**AN: This is a filler. It's actually really boring. Sorry! Next one will be better, I promise. For those of you that wanted fluff, it's coming :) **

Our return to District One is more chaos than anything. Lily steps off the train and heads right for Aella and Nicholas, who are standing back from the tracks. They fold each other into a group hug, clinging together. Leo charges for Antonius, who's struggling off the train on his crutches, almost knocking him off his feet. Antonius gives him a hug and ruffles his red hair. Leo doesn't look ready to let go, and neither does Antonius. I can't even imagine what Leo has gone through these past weeks, knowing he'd be completely alone if Antonius died. He'd have no one.

Cameras are flashing as I make my way over to Cashmere, Gloss, and Agatha, who are standing off to the side. Agatha and Cashmere give me a hug and Gloss hits me on the shoulder. Agatha is watching Antonius and Leo with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face. She doesn't say anything.

Eventually Antonius and Leo make their way over to us, and we begin our walk to Victor's Circle. The flashing cameras follow. I walk beside Lily, but I don't make any move to touch her. I regret holding her hand that one time in the lobby. Not because of Palmer or anyone else, but beacause in doing that, I made her more vulnerable to Snow's threats. He clearly knows that I care about her, but that probably made it worse. I wish the cameras would leave.

Antonius is handed a key to the house beside Lily's, two away from mine. He poses on the porch for a picture, one with Leo and one without, then the cameras slowly disperse. We all gather on the porch for the introductions. A few of the cameras are still around. Gloss, Cashmere, and Agatha introduce themselves, then leave, promising that we'll all have dinner at Agatha's that night. Nicholas introduces himself, then leaves with Aella and Lily. I don't think Lily wants to be away from them anymore than she has to. Aella and Antonius have gone to school together for several years, and I could tell that Aella was glad that he came back. I think back to the Reaping. They could've been in the arena together. One of them, or both, wouldn't be standing here.

I give Antonius a short tour of the house. It has the exact same layout as all the other houses in Victor's Circle. Someone has moved all of the Fennell's possessions into the house, just like they did for Lily. It's already close to dinner, so I leave, saying that I'll see them soon at Agatha's. Antonius seems to be coping well, though he looks really tired. I know he'll be all right, he's strong.

It's already dark out by the time I make my way to Agatha's house. No one else is there yet, so I help her set the table, out on the porch under the wisteria with the twinkling Christmas lights. I'm back in the kitchen, lifting some glasses out of the cupboard, when Agatha pulls me into a hug. It's one of those comforting hugs, the kind of hug that I never get, except from her, since my parents are gone. She pulls back and holds my face in her hands. "You've gotten skinnier," she says.

I shrug. I hardly even thought about eating during the Games.

Her white eyebrows crease in concern. "Are you all right, Marvel?"

"I'm fine," I say, smiling at her. "Honestly."

She doesn't fall for it. "I know it's hard." She does know. She knows all too well.

A loud bang causes her to jump. "Sorry!" I hear Gloss kick off his shoes and walk down the hallway. "That door slammed of its own accord." He kisses Agatha on the cheek. "What's for dinner?"

She gives me a last look, then turns to Gloss. "Spaghetti. You can help Marvel set the table."

Gloss grabs some plates and follows me down the hallway. I put a glass at each place. "Were you guys all right?"

The question catches me off guard, though I don't know why. I nod. "We were fine."

He doesn't look like he believes it, but pretends he does, for which I'm grateful. "What about Lily? How's she holding up?"

"I think she's fine. It's just hard." I know she's not fine, but she'll heal with time.

"I know it's hard, but you have to remember, you brought one home. That's better than we'd done for years, at least before you two won."

"It doesn't even seem like it's the one that came home that matters. It's the one that didn't."

A look of pain flashes across Gloss's face, and I immediately feel bad. Why did I say that? He's lost far more tributes than we have. "I know," is all he says.

"Gloss," I say. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know you didn't," he says. "Don't worry about it. Let's just enjoy this dinner." He puts down the final plate. "I just hope you're all right."

I nod, greeting Antonius and Leo as they climb onto the porch. Cashmere comes soon after, and Lily, Aella and Nicholas arrive after we've all sat down.

Dinner is mostly enjoyable. No one talks about the arena. A lone peacekeeper strolls by at one point, long after we've finished eating. I don't recognize him, nor do I recognize his uniform. It looks different from what they usually wear here. Gloss and Cashmere exchange a glance, though I don't know why. There aren't many peacekeepers here, but seeing one isn't a big deal. He waves to us, and I'm too surprised to wave back. Antonius waves back, a big grin on his face. The peacekeeper gives a fake smile. At least, it looks fake to me. "Good evening," he calls.

We all mumble back some kind of greeting, and he continues on his way. Agatha watches him leave. I'm still puzzling over why he was patrolling Victor's Circle as I help clear the table. I've never seen a peacekeeper in this part of the district before.

Antonius thanks Agatha for the dinner, then leaves. He can't do much to help with his crutches, and I could tell that he was tired. He can still hardly eat anything, and it's been almost a week and a half since he won.

Cashmere asks Lily and I to stay for a minute, and I assume it's to help Agatha clean up. Nicholas walks home with Aella and Leo, and Cashmere leads us into the living room. I sit beside Lily on the couch, and Gloss and Agatha sit down on the chairs.

For a minute we're all silent. Gloss clears his throat. "The Capitol isn't happy, guys."

My heart jumps into my throat. Is it about Palmer? Or Snow's request? What are they going to do?

"It's about Antonius. They're not happy with the way he won the Games."

"What do you mean?" Lily asks. "He was the last one standing. That's how it works."

"They don't like that he didn't technically kill Broderick. The screaming about being a murderer didn't exactly help either."

"He'd just been starving and scared for more than a week," Lily says. "He would never say it again. At least, not to the Capitol."

Gloss sighs. "They don't appreciate things like that, which leads me to our next topic. Obviously, that peacekeeper wandering around wasn't normal."

I feel myself nodding as the pieces fall into place. "The Capitol is suspicious. They're sending extra peacekeepers here, and to some of the other Districts. It's really no different, though I've heard that these new ones are rougher than the others. Just stay out of their way and it'll be fine. They're just here to watch for suspicious behaviour. I don't want you guys to worry anymore than you already are, we just thought you should know."

"Thanks for telling us," I say, and I mean it. It'll be a change having them around here, but we don't do anything that would provoke suspicion.

We're all quiet for a minute. "It'll get easier," Cashmere says. "We know how hard it is."

Lily doesn't say anything, just nods. I thank them, then take Lily's hand and pull her off the couch. She follows me down the hall and to the porch. We walk in silence to her house. I pause on the front lawn. "We're going to be all right. I promise." She looks up at me, her eyes sad. I wrap my arms around her and we stay like that for a long time. All I can think about is how this is our future. Every year for as long as I live, at least one child from our district is going to die for nothing. They say they die for glory. It's not glory. Nothing about it is glorious, not even winning. Any one of us could vouch for that.

I pull away from Lily. "I'll see you tomorrow, all right?"

She nods, and I kiss the top of her head. I watch her climb the porch steps, then push open the front door. She gives me a small smile, then disappears into the house.


	24. Michael

**Marvel**

I knock on the bright yellow door with a shaking hand. I can hear Antonius shifting around on his crutches behind me. The wooden boards of the porch creak. Lily clears her throat.

A man swings the door open. He looks to be about forty, with sandy blond hair and kind eyes. The resemblance to Calliope is so shocking that I almost stagger backwards. He looks at us. I can see the sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sure you know why we're here, sir," I begin, unsure of what I'm going to say, even though Lily and I went over it at least five times. "We hope that you'll accept our deepest apologies, both for what happened to your daughter and what your family's had to go through." It all comes out in a rush.

The man's eyes become distant, then he focuses on me. He runs a hand through his hair. "Thank you so much for coming over here." He looks between us. "Really, thank you so much."

"It's not a problem," Lily says. "We can't even imagine what you've gone through."

He smiles sadly. He looks over his shoulder as a woman appears beside him. She has a blanket over her shoulders. I can see the resemblance to Calliope in her dark eyes. She's pretty, but the dark circles under her eyes stand out against her pale skin. She leans on Calliope's father and he wraps his arms around her. She looks at us for a second. "Why are you here?"

Her tone's not angry, but she doesn't seem pleased. I'm about to answer her when Antonius clears his throat. "We're here to apologize. I'm so sorry about what happened." He pauses for a second, and his voice sounds thick when he continues. "I'm so sorry I couldn't save her. Not a minute goes by that I don't think about it. What I could have done. What I didn't do." He clears his throat again. "I'm so sorry."

Any resentment that I saw in the woman's eyes dissolves. "It's not your fault." She looks to Lily and I. "It's not your fault either."

I nod. Lily opens her mouth to say something, but a small boy apppears behind his mother, not looking at us timidly, but with a boldness I've never seen in the eyes of a child his age.

Antonius smiles at him. "You must be Michael."

The boy steps onto the porch. He, too, looks like Calliope. He smiles up at Antonius. "Are you here to bring my sister back?"

His father jumps in, his voice choked with a sob. "Michael-"

Antonius leans his crutches on the railing, then kneels so that he's equal with Michael, a clear struggle with his bandaged leg. "I don't have your sister with me, but she told me all about you." His eyes glisten, but his voice doesn't waver. "She loved you so much."

Michael puffs out his chest. "I know she does. I love her too."

Antonius nods. "Keep doing what you're doing. Be good for your parents. Make her proud."

He nods avidly. "I will. I'll make her proud."

Antonius nods. "I know you will." He gets back to his feet, limping to his crutches. He wipes his eyes before turning back towards us. He doesn't say anything.

Calliope's mother clears her throat. "Why don't you go finish your lunch, Michael?"

He nods, walking towards her and turning around in the doorway to address Antonius. "Will I see you again?"

Antonius smiles at him. "I think we could work that out."

Michael grins at him, then disappears into the house. Calliope's father looks at Antonius with something in his eyes that I can't identify. Relief? "We haven't told him yet. We don't know how to explain it to him."

Antonius nods. "You'll know when the time comes."

I hear a crash from the kitchen, then a small voice. "Oops." Calliope's father sighs. "I guess that's my cue. Thank you so much for coming by. We appreciate it so much." He disappears into the house.

The woman thanks us, then goes to follow her husband into the house. Antonius begins down the steps, and I turn to follow him. Lily's still standing on the porch. "Are you coming?"

"I'll catch up in a second."

I nod, following Antonius down the steps. He's still slow on the crutches, but he's getting better. We walk in silence for a moment. I think about what he said. _You'll know when the time comes._ I wonder for the first time if he was the one that had to tell Leo what happened to their parents. He was pretty young, so I doubt it. I still remember being told about my father. That was the scene for a lot of the people in our District, being told about those who had been killed in the earthquake, or those who were missing, buried under collapsed buildings. I was sitting in the living room of my old house. I was young, but I could tell that it was serious. It was my uncle who told me. "Marvel," he'd said. "There's been an accident." My young mind took a long time to process that my father was never coming home, that I was now an orphan. He stayed with me for a few weeks, until he was offered a job in the Capitol. He then enrolled me in the Training Centre and left. I haven't seen him since. I wonder if he watched my Games. Does he regret leaving me alone, without any family?

**AN: That was really short, but I haven't posted in a while and felt like I should. Hopefully the next one will be longer. Thanks for reading! **


	25. Stargazing

**AN: This is pretty short and fluffy. **

**Marvel**

I balance a last plate on the stack I've gathered and follow Lily into the kitchen. Everyone brings a load of dishes out, then they slowly disperse. We rotate nights for doing the dishes, and tonight it's Lily and I. I don't mind, since we get a chance to talk. Aella thanks us, then follows Antonius, Leo, and Nicholas outside. They're probably going for a walk. I turn on the tap and begin filling the sink with warm water. Agatha brings the last glasses and places them by the sink.

"That was delicious, Lily. Your cooking's improving." She smiles at her.

Lily grins and takes a mock bow. Her cooking's become something of a joke, since she can barely cook anything without setting the house on fire. "I tried."

"It was amazing. Good luck topping that tomorrow, Marvel." She grins at me, then disappears down the hallway. She's really the only one in our little group who can cook, so we all eagerly await her night to make dinner.

Gloss and Cashmere come out with the last of the dishes. Gloss leans on the counter, folding his arms over his chest. "I don't know how you did it, Lily, but you cooked a meal without burning it. He shakes his head and grins at her. "I'm pretty impressed."

"You're not invited next time, then, Gloss." She shakes her head but smiles at him.

Cashmere hits him on the shoulder. "She's a better cook than you."

Gloss nods. "True. That's not much of an accomplishment, though."

Lily glares at him, but she's still smiling. "I'd like to see you top my cooking."

"I can't." He gestures to Cashmere. "I have to put up with her cooking, then Marvel's, then Nicholas', until Agatha cooks and I can have a proper meal."

We all laugh at that, since it's true. My cooking is just as bad as Lily's, I'm just better at not lighting stuff on fire. Cashmere slaps him on the shoulder. They still fight like they're nine and ten. I guess it's a big sister's job to do that to her brother, no matter how old they are. "I need to go tell Agatha something. Thanks for dinner." She disappears down the hallway.

Gloss turns to follow her. "I'll see you two tomorrow."

We say goodbye, then turn our attention to the dishes. We're done quickly, and I help Lily put the dried dishes away. When we're done, I go to lock the back door, but pause as I see a beautiful dark sky, sprinkled with twinkling stars. I open the door and step onto the back porch, amazed by the amount of stars. It rains and snows a lot here, so we don't usually have such an incredibly clear view. "Come see this, Lily," I call. I can't seem to pull my eyes off of the stars. She steps onto the porch beside me and gasps. We're silent for a moment. She grabs my hand. "Let's go lie on the grass."

I follow her down the porch steps and onto the grass. The houses of Victor's Circle are on the edge of the District, so the back yards don't really end, just join up with the forest. It's completely silent, except for the sound of our footsteps, and an owl hooting somewhere in the forest.

I lie beside Lily on the grass. The starry sky stretches as far as I can see in every direction. If I look straight up, I can't see the houses or the trees, just the beautiful sky. "That's Arcturus," Lily says, pointing.

I try to spot it, but I have no idea where she's pointing. She reaches over and puts her hands on my wrist, moving my hand toward a completely different area than where I was looking. "See, that one. Two over from that cluster. The bright one." I finally see it and nod, impressed that she knew that.

"Where did you learn that?"

She's quiet for a moment. "My father. He used to bring Nicholas and I out to the back yard when we were little, while my mother tried to get Aella to sleep. I can always spot Arcturus. It was his favourite." She pauses, as if remembering. "He loved stargazing. He used to teach his classes about it. I'm sure he would have loved to teach astronomy. Those are some of my best memories."

I move my head to the side so I can look at her. She's still looking up at the sky, a small smile on her face. She hardly ever talks about her parents. I'm sure it's not because she didn't love them, but because she loved them so much it's still too hard to accept their fate.

We lie in silence for a while. The beauty of the sky still astounds me. The lights in Agatha's house go out, and the sky seems to brighten even more. Lily gets up at one point to turn out the lights in my house, and it feels as if it's only the two of us, alone in the star sprinkled universe.

"There are more people in the world than all the stars we can see, and every single one of them has a different story. It's incredible, isn't it?"

I turn my head so I can look at her again. She's turned slightly towards me, but she's still looking at the sky. The stars reflect in her eyes.

I reach out and take her wrist, pulling her over so that she's looking down at me. I brush a piece of her hair behind her ear. The stars twinkle behind her. "The only story I want is the one with you."

She smiles, then leans down and gently presses her lips to mine. I sit up a bit, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her closer.

She breaks the kiss after a minute, taking my hand and lying back down beside me. We stay out there for a long time, until the grass becomes damp with dew that reflects the moonlight.

I'm not sure how long has passed when we decide to go in, but I know it's been several hours. I pull Lily to her feet, still holding onto her hand as we cut between my house and hers. I walk her up to the porch. She bites her lip, but doesn't look regretful. "Nicholas is going to kill me."

"You? He'll kill me."

She laughs. "You can take him."

I wish her goodnight, saying I'll see her tomorrow, then cross the yard to my house.

**AN: Sorry for leaving off at such a weird spot. Next chapter will be longer and more interesting. Please review if you've been reading! ****HOW DID I GET TO 25 CHAPTERS?! **


	26. Confession

**Marvel**

We spend a lot of the summer by the small lake in the District. Antonius has his bandages removed, and aside from a nasty scar, his leg is pretty much fine. He has a slight limp, but it really only shows if you're looking for it, or after he's walked for a long time. He often brings Michael with us and swims with him. It's bitterly ironic for Michael to be with him, but it's so kind of Antonius. I think it helps Calliope's parents a bit. Lily doesn't touch the water, and I doubt she ever will. She doesn't like to swim anywhere where she can't see the bottom, or where there might be a current. That pretty much eliminates everything besides a bathtub, but I don't blame her one bit. Aella tells me she was never much of a swimmer. I'm not that eager to swim either, but I do. I offer for her to swim, but don't push too much. She's content sitting at one of the picnic tables along the shore, reading her book. Michael often asks her to swim with him, but she finds a way around it. Usually she'll just play in the sand with him until someone else arrives to swim with him.

Antonius's state improves, and he begins to laugh and joke again. He still has moments where he'll stop laughing suddenly, the smile dropping from his face as he stares at nothing. It's probably because he's remembered something. We all have those moments, even Agatha, despite the amount of time that's passed since she won her games. He begins school in September. At first I wonder how he concentrates, but Lily points out that it's most likely a distraction from his thoughts. He walks there and back with Aella and Leo. Lily and I were already done school, so we didn't have to go back. Antonius still has a year to go. I don't think he wanted to go back, but Aella really encouraged him. They've become pretty close over the summer. They spend a lot of time on the swings that Lily and I built, talking. It's good for Antonius.

Lily and I often look at the stars when it's clear outside. We begin bringing sweaters and a blanket as the weather becomes colder and the district settles into fall. The more time we spend together, the more one thought seems to reverberate in my mind. I need to tell her what Snow told me. The thought hangs over my head like a dark cloud. I can barely look at her without wondering what her reaction will be. It's not fair to keep a secret like that from someone, especially someone who's becoming a bigger part of your life every day.

It's a warm night in September when I decide that it's about time I told her. We eat dinner at Agatha's. Everyone seems to be in a good mood. Antonius tells us some story about Leo falling in the lake when they took Michael there. Leo keeps telling him to stop, but he's laughing too hard to do much about it. He'll reach over and try to push Antonius, but he just pushes him back and ploughs on. I laugh when everyone else does, but I keep finding myself staring at nothing, thinking about how I'm going to tell Lily.

A chair scraping on the tile floor jolts me back to my senses. Agatha is standing up. "I'll get the dessert," she says. We rarely have dessert, so it must have been her idea to make it. Gloss pushes back his chair. "I'll get it," he says.

Agatha smiles at him. "Thanks, dear. It's in the fridge." She sits back down.

Gloss turns to me. "Can you help me, Marvel?"

"Yeah, sure," I say, standing up. I follow him into the kitchen, but he makes no move towards the fridge.

"Are you all right?" he asks. Worry puts a concerned crease between his eyebrows.

I nod. "Just thinking." I pause. I could tell him. Maybe he knows what to do, if this can be avoided. I'm already talking before I've even decided if I should tell him. I hate worrying other people with my problems, but I know I can trust him. "Snow, he told me that I need to, erm, repay the sponsors that gave Lily and I that stuff during our Games."

Gloss stares at me for a moment, then leans back against the counter, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose as if warding off a migraine. He stays like that for a long time. When he finally lifts his head, I can see anger behind his normally calm blue eyes.

"I'm so sorry," he says. The anger dissipates and he draws his eyebrows together. He shakes his head. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I say. "I don't know why they had to do this. Why me? What's so special about me?"

Gloss opens his mouth, then closes it. I can tell he's thinking about how to word what he's going to say next. He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose again. "It's not just you, Marvel. It's almost everyone. I was told to do the same thing." He runs a hand along the granite of the countertop. "I didn't do it. I refused."

I don't ask him what happened. He'll tell me if he wants to. He swallows, then looks up at me. His eyes are filled with tears. "So they took her. My fiancée. The day before our wedding."

I stare at him in complete shock. He lifts up his left hand. A silver engagement band glints in the bright lights of the kitchen. I'd noticed it before, but had never assumed that it was an engagement band. Thinking back, it makes me feel pretty ignorant. Why else would he have a band on that finger? "I won the Games when I was eighteen," he continues. "They kept threatening me, but I never listened. I waited six years before I asked her to marry me. She said yes." He pauses. "I loved her so much." He twists the ring on his finger. "I keep hoping that maybe she's alive. It's been less than two years. I'm keeping this on, and I'm not taking this off until I know for sure that she's not out there somewhere, waiting for me."

I can't stop staring at Gloss. He's twisting the ring around and around, staring at his finger but seeing something far away. I bet he's seeing her. He looks back up after a few moments. "They took our parents too. I know they're dead, though. That was their threat against Cashmere. They can't use her against me, since she's a Victor." He shakes his head. "I'd give anything to go back, to agree to what they'd asked. Then I could see her again."

I don't talk, because I know there's something else he wants to say. He looks up, locking eyes with me. "Listen to them, Marvel. They're in control. They always will be. Don't lose Lily. I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody, especially not you."

I don't ask how he knew that Lily was the threat. My parents are both dead. She's really the only logical one for them to choose. "I will." We're both quiet for a moment. "What's her name?" I ask.

"Charlotte." He's quiet for a moment. "Please, promise me you'll do what they ask."

"I will, I promise."

He nods. "Good, I'm-"

"Are you guys all right?"

I jump, and Gloss whips around to face the doorway of the kitchen. Lily stands there, her eyes wide. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Agatha told me to come check on you."

I compose myself first. "We're fine. I'll grab the stuff."

She nods. "Sorry for scaring you."

I smile at her. "Don't worry about it."

I grab the dessert, which appears to be a cake, out of the fridge. Gloss is leaning on the counter again, his head in his hands.

"Gloss?"

He lifts his head, looking at me as if surprised to see me. "I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head. "It's not your fault. Not one bit. It's just hard."

"I know. Just hang on to that hope, okay?"

"I will."

I smile at him, feeling sick to my stomach, and carry the cake back to the table.

Everybody stares at us as we come back in. Gloss is really pale, and we've been gone for a long time. No one asks what we were doing. It's better to let people tell you what they want, as opposed to pushing them for answers.

Gloss doesn't say a word for the duration of dinner, and neither of us eats any cake. I take Lily's hand under the table. She gives me a questioning look, but holds on. I only let go to help clear the table. Gloss, speaking for the first time, suggests that Lily and I do the dishes. He shepherds everyone out of the house. It's already dark outside. I can barely string a sentence together to answer Lily when she talks to me. She keeps looking at me with concern in her eyes.

I try to pick up some of the plates that she's dried, but my shaking hands bang them together like chattering teeth. I stare down at the stack of plates, willing my hands to stop shaking. I pick them up again, but Lily puts one of her hands on top of mine, pulling it away from the plates and turning me gently to face her. Her brown eyes search my green ones. I can't bear to look at her and choose instead to focus on her hands, which are holding both of mine.

When I find the courage to look back up, she's still looking at me. "What is it?" she says gently. The dim light of the kitchen makes her hair look even darker.

"I - there's something I need to tell you," I say slowly, trying to pick the right words. How am I supposed to tell her this?

She nods patiently, letting me take my time. "Snow, he called me to his office during the Games. You were sleeping." I take a shuddering breath. "I need to, erm, repay the sponsors for the things they gave us. I'm so sorry." It all comes out in a rush. I look at her. I can see the realization dawn in her eyes.

"Not like-"

I nod. "Yes."

Her mouth drops open in horror as the shock registers on her face. She throws her arms around my neck. I hold her as tightly as I can, burying my face in her hair. Tears flow down my cheeks, but I'm not embarrassed. That's part of whatever we have, seeing each other at our weak moments.

We stand in the dim kitchen for a long time, holding each other and swaying slowly in circles. She keeps her head pressed against my chest, holding me tightly. I wish it could stay like this forever. No one comes into the kitchen, and I appreciate it. Gloss knows what I had to tell her. I pull away after a while, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand and clearing my throat. "Lily, if you want to stop," I search for the right words. "If you want to stop our, um, relationship, then I completely understand, I mean-"

She cuts me off by planting her lips on mine with such passion that I stumble back a step, my back hitting the edge of the counter. I bury my hands in her hair, pulling her impossibly closer. After a minute she breaks the kiss. "It's you I want to be with, Marvel. It'll always be you. We've been through worse than this before. Whatever it takes, remember?"

I do remember. I remember her bleeding in my arms. I was so sure she was going to die. _"We're going home," _I'd told her. _"Whatever it takes."_ Tears shine on her cheeks, but she's smiling at me sadly. I pull her closer again and tilt her chin back so that her lips meet mine. The kiss doesn't seem to have lost anything, and I'm so grateful that she's part of my life. We've been there for each other through so much that I don't know what I'd do if I lost her.

I pull away after a moment, brushing a stray curl behind her ear. "I'm so sorry."

She wipes a tear off my cheek with the pad of her thumb. "Don't be sorry," she says softly. "None of this is your fault, Marvel. None of it."

I shake my head. "What would I without you?"

She just smiles at me, then wraps her arms around my neck again. I pull her as close as I can, resting my chin on top of her head, which she leans against my chest.

I completely lose track of time as we stand in the kitchen. It's not until I glance out the window above the sink and see that the moon is at its peak in the sky that I realize how long we've been standing there. I pull away from Lily slowly and regretfully. She looks up at me. I muster a smile. "Should we finish those dishes?"

She laughs. "Sounds like a plan."

We wash and dry the remaining plates, then head to the front door. Lily takes my hand as I follow her onto the porch. All the lights are on in her house. Mine, as usual, is dark. We've just shut the front door of Agatha's house when two people stand up off the immobile swings in the centre of the circle of houses. Aella and Antonius.

"What are you guys doing out here?" I call, following Lily down the steps and onto the sidewalk.

"Waiting for you two," Antonius answers, taking an unecessary leap over the curb and crossing the road towards us. He still hasn't gotten over the joy of being able to use his leg properly. I can't blame him for that.

Aella follows him across the streeet, and we head up the sidewalk. "Where is everyone?" I ask Aella over my shoulder.

"They're all in our house, I think," she says. "I'm not sure, though."

I nod. We all climb onto Lily's porch, then follow her through the door. Everyone is gathered there. Cashmere stops talking as we walk in. For a second it's silent. Gloss sees our entwined hands and smiles, a look of relief washing across his face. He doesn't say anything.

Agatha stands up. "I should be going," she says, heading towards the door. I step aside to let her through the doorframe.

She pats my arm as she walks by, giving me a small smile. She's gone before I can apologize for preventing her from going into her house for almost three hours. She's never talked much, but she's always been understanding.

Gloss and Cashmere are next, filing out of the room. Cashmere smiles at us, and Gloss raises his eyebrows questioningly, nodding at Lily, whose back is turned. We've gotten quite good at communicating without words. I nod. He smiles at me, following Cashmere down the hall.

Leo stands up off the couch, walking over to Antonius. Antonius goes to ruffle his hair, but Leo pushes him away. "I'm still mad at you."

Antonius grins at him. "Sure you are." They disappear down the hall, and I hear the sound of someone being shoved into the wall, then running footsteps and the front door opening and closing.

Nicholas shakes his head and grins. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight, guys." He climbs the stairs.

Aella yawns. "I'm going to bed too," she says. "I'll see you two in the morning."

Lily grabs her arm as she walks past. "You've sure been spending a lot of time with Antonius." She raises her eyebrows.

Aella shakes off Lily's grip angrily. "So?" Her face is bright red.

Lily grins at her. "Nothing."

She glares at her, then looks at me. "I don't know how you put up with her. Goodnight."

She walks past Lily without awknowledging her. I can see by her face that she's not actually mad. I know her and Lily rarely fight. Their hug when Lily returned from our Games, and the amount of time they spend together begs to differ.

Lily grabs her in a hug and spins her around. Aella smiles at her, then disentangles herself from her sister's grip and runs up the stairs.

Lily turns to face me and takes both of my hands in hers. She looks up at me. "It'll be all right."

I nod at her, but I don't know how to answer that. "We've got each other," she says.

"You have no idea how grateful I am for that," I say, and I mean it like nothing I've ever said before.

She smiles up at me. "I think I do."

**AN: Sorry for the wait, I thought I'd write a longer chapter instead of a short one. I hope you liked it! Also, special shout-out to ****plaidprincess3000**** for always reviewing and reading for so long, and to my friend ****Kendra (burning-with-us) ****for reading before I post. Thanks to everyone who reads, it's really appreciated. I would mail you all some lovely cupcakes, but I can't. **


	27. Skating

**AN: Good news! I've finally thought of an idea for the Quarter Quell arena, so hopefully this story will start moving along again. I've been stalling, trying to think of an idea. Thanks for reading! **

**Marvel**

As the branches of the maple tree in Victor's Circle become heavy with fluffy white snow and the days become shorter, we begin eating in Agatha's kitchen instead of on her porch. Although the layout of her house is exactly the same as mine, there's something about it that's comforting. Maybe it's the memories I have here. It always feels lively, especially compared to my dark and empty house. I hardly spend any time at my house, since I'm usually with Lily or here, eating meals with everyone. The dinners are always enjoyable, with lots of talking and laughter, something that I never had during the usually quiet dinners in the Training Centre. We eat in the shadow of the huge Christmas tree that we cut down a few days ago and dragged through the back door. It took four of us to carry it. We covered it with lights, and it looks beautiful. Christmas isn't for a week, but I don't want to rush that time, since after Christmas it's only a short time until the Victory Tour.

I haven't really thought about it, and Lily and I have only talked about it once or twice. In recent years, the Capitol has changed it around so that the Tour is only once every two years, and the Victor only visits the Capitol, where there's a big dinner in the Victor's honour, followed by a dance. Something about unrest in the Districts. The citizens don't like smiling up at someone who's the reason their child didn't make it back. Usually the Capitol doesn't comply when the District's voice their thoughts, but who am I to complain? It'll make the Tour shorter.

It'll mean I'll have to see Palmer, but I'm hoping that I can avoid her. Gloss told me that he knows her father. He's a high ranking game maker, and is Snow's right hand man. It makes me hate Palmer even more. I need to be careful what I do around Lily during our time in the Capitol, but Gloss has said that dancing shouldn't be a problem. If Palmer does happen to talk to me, I need to be civil, but by no means endearing.

We finish dinner, and I thank Agatha, who's been doing most of the cooking as of late. Leo and Nicholas are on the dishes, so I follow Lily towards the front door. I entwine my fingers with hers and follow her down the porch steps. We cut across the lawn, then climb the steps to her porch. She turns to me as I climb the last step. She doesn't say anything, just looks at me, the lights reflecting in her eyes. She's got the most beautiful eyes of anyone I've ever seen. I brush a piece of hair out of her eyes. She reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me down to her. I wrap my arms around her waist, holding her close. I press my lips to hers, and everything seems to leave my mind so that it's only the two of us.

"No public displays of affection!"

I pull away from Lily slowly, opening my eyes and turning towards the road. Antonius stands alone in the middle of the street, grinning at us. It's so rare to see him smile like that since the arena that I can't help but grin back. I grab a snow covered pillow off the porch swing and throw it at him. He doesn't even blink as it lands a good ten feet in front of him. "Don't you have something useful to be doing?" I call to him.

He shrugs, knitting his eyebrows together and putting a finger on his chin, pretending to think hard. He shakes his head. "No."

"Well find something," I say. "Something that doesn't involve bothering us."

He laughs. "Fine. Have fun," he says, starting to back up. He turns around and then pauses, turning back towards us and raising his eyebrows. "Not too much fun."

Beside me, Lily laughs. "I'll get you for that later," I call. He gives us a mock salute, then trudges across the lawn and climbs the steps to his porch, shutting the door behind him. I turn back to Lily. She grins up at me.

"Now," I say, wrapping my arms back around her waist. "Where were we?"

She smiles at me, putting her mittened hands on my cheeks and pulling my head towards her. "I think I remember," she says, pressing her lips gently to mine.

She pulls away at the sound of Agatha's door opening and closing. She smiles up at me and takes both of my hands in hers, swinging them between us. "I know what we can do tomorrow."

"What?" I brush another piece of hair out of her eyes.

She grins at me. "It's a surprise." She kisses me once more, quickly, as Aella climbs onto the porch. I wish Aella goodnight, watching Lily as she follows Aella into the house.

"I'm curious now," I call after her. "You can't do that!"

Lily turns around in the doorframe. "I just did." She gives me a last smile, then disappears into the house.

I rub my hands together, shaking my head. I wade through the snow in the yard to my house, wondering what on earth Lily's up to.

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

Lily turns around and looks at me. "You've said that three times."

"I needed to get the point across," I say, raising my eyebrows at her and readjusting the skates that are slung over my shoulder by their knotted laces.

She smiles. "It'll be fun. We're almost there."

I smile at her as she turns back around. She showed up at my house this afternoon with two pairs of skates that belonged to her parents, saying that we were going skating. I've never skated, and she hasn't since she lost her parents.

We arrive at the deserted pond a few minutes later. The picnic tables are covered with snow, and the pond's surface is frozen solid, as smooth as a mirror. Lily sits down on a snow bank at the pond's edge, pulling on the white skates that belonged to her mother.

She stands up a moment later, leaving me sitting on the snowbank, and steps hesitantly onto the ice. She adjusts her red scarf. "Let's see if I can remember how to do this." She pushes off gingerly with her other foot, gliding for a few feet. She skates towards the middle of the pond, spinning in a circle and throwing her arms out to the side. I watch her, mesmerized. The trees, laden with snow, the smooth surface of the pond, and Lily's pale face and pink cheeks make for a beautiful setting.

As she skates back over, I turn my attention to my skates. She comes to an awkward stop, looking down at me and my failed attempt to tie the skates. She grins at me. "Do you need me to tie your shoes, Marvel?"

I wrinkle my nose at her. "No."

"Fine." She pushes my shoulder, then skates away.

I tie the skates, though they're still loose, and stand up. My legs are wobbly, and I'm finding it difficult to remain standing. Lily comes back over, looking at my feet. "I could comment about your poor job with the laces, but I won't."

I laugh. "I appreciate it."

She takes my hand, giving it a gentle tug. "Let's go."

"You never were patient," I say, shaking my head and trying to imitate her posture, since she doesn't look like she's in danger of falling on her face.

It's her turn to laugh. "Do you want to skate or not?" She gives my hand another gentle tug, and I almost fall.

"If I fall, you're going to fall with me," I tell her.

She nods and smiles. "I know."

I shrug and laugh. "All right, I just wanted to make sure you were aware."

Lily skates slowly towards the centre of the pond with me in tow. She tries to explain how to push with one foot and glide, but I can't even move without wobbling or falling.

We spend the entire afternoon on the ice. We both fall plenty of times, but the other one's always there to pull us back to our feet. There's a lot of laughter, and it's one of the best afternoons I've had in a long time. It's not until Lily's standing up off the ice and pulling me to my feet for hundredth time that I notice how dark it is. The pale winter sky has turned dark, and in a few minutes I'll barely be able to see my skates.

I stand up, holding on to Lily's shoulder with one hand to keep my balance. I survey the sky. "We should probably head back now," I say. "They're going to wonder why we've been gone for so long."

Lily nods. "I don't want to be out here too late."

We make our way slowly back to the snow bank, not by choice, but because if I don't shuffle along slowly then there's more of a chance that I'll fall on my face.

We untie our skates with frozen fingers, then I sling the two pairs over my shoulder.

We've just started walking when I hear a voice. I look towards Lily, but she's walking away, her back turned. The voice sounded fairly far away. I listen again, but don't hear anything.

"Marvel?"

I look up. Lily's already a good ways up the dimly lit path. "Are you coming?"

"I'll be right there." I listen for another second, but don't hear anything. I jog up to Lily, who's been waiting for me. She slips her hand into mine, and we make our way towards the curve in the path.

I turn the bend first, and what I see causes me to stop in my tracks. A group of five, maybe six, peacekeepers are huddled around each other, talking and smoking.

I back up a few steps, out of their sight, pulling Lily with me. She looks up at me in confusion. "It's after curfew," I tell her. I'm not sure if it is or not, but under the regime of our new peacekeepers, we're not supposed to be outside after dark.

She looks at my skeptically, but I can tell that she won't doubt me. Doubt really isn't part of our relationship. I don't want to tell her that we're not supposed to be seen together, especially not just the two of us. I'm supposed to save my time for Palmer. As far as I'm concerned, that's not going to happen.

"Let's just cut through here," I tell her, gesturing behind me to the woods. If we walk straight, then we should end up in the backyards of Victor's Circle.

She looks over my shoulder at the dark forest. "All right." She doesn't look that avid.

She tightens her grip on my hand and follows me as I step over a fallen log. We're quiet, careful not to step on branches that might snap, but as we get further away from the dim lights of the path, it gets harder to see where we're stepping.

"I think we can walk normally now," I tell Lily. It comes out as a whisper, even though I meant to say it at a normal volume.

She's silent, so I turn around to look at her. Her eyes are wide. "Lily?"

"I don't like this, Marvel." I can see her breath in the frigid air. "It's like the arena."

Guilt rushes through me. How could I have made her do this? I should've known it would trigger something. I pull her into my arms. She shivers. I barely catch the next thing she says, since her voice is muffled. "Everything looks like a crouching tribute."

I look around over the top of her head. She's right, now that I think about it. Fallen branches look like emaciated arms. Tree stumps look like hunkered down tributes, crouching just beyond my line of vision. A shiver runs down my spine.

I pull away from Lily, but keep her hand in mine. "We're almost there. Can you do it?"

She nods, but her eyes are focused on something only she can see. I pick up the pace, pulling her along behind me. The laces of the skates are digging into my shoulder, but I don't stop to adjust them. We finally break out of the thicker trees. It's easier to make our way through the outskirts of the forest, since the trees are more dispersed. I can't see any light ahead, and I begin to worry. Did I go the wrong way? I can see where the line of trees ends, but not any light. I pause at the edge of the forest, looking up. The roof of a house looms over us. Of course. We're just across Victor's Circle, on the uninhabited side of the circle. Our houses are just across the road, past the maple tree and our empty swings.

I keep walking, aiming for the space between the two houses that will lead us to the road. Lily follows me silently, still clutching my hand. I pause between the two houses, looking up and down the road. A peacekeeper, a rare sight on this side of town, is strolling up the road, rubbing his gloved hands together and breathing on them, trying to keep them warm. I duck back into the shadow of the house, pulling Lily with me. He passes, more concentrated on his hands than his surroundings, and takes the road back to town. I wait until he's a small dot in the distance, then walk across the poorly plowed road, slippery with ice.

All the lights are on in Agatha's house. Everyone's probably eating dinner. On second thought, they've probably been done dinner for a long time. It's long past sunset. I climb the steps, putting the skates on the porch swing. I turn to Lily. Her cheeks are wet with tears, but some of them are freezing before they can make it too far.

I stare at her in complete shock, wiping some of the tears off her face with the pad of my thumb. "I'm so sorry, Lily, I didn't even think, that was terrible of me-"

She shakes her head, pulling her eyes off the ground and looking at me. "It's not your fault. Not at all." She looks like she's got more to say, so I wait. "Why did you have to avoid those peacekeepers?"

I drop her gaze, but I can tell she's still looking at me. "Is it because of that girl in the Capitol?"

I concentrate on the ground, then look back up at her. "I'm not technically supposed to be with you."

She nods. "That makes sense. If it would be easier-"

I cut her off. "Do I look like I care about what they tell me to do?"

She laughs. "I guess not."

I smile and wipe a tear in the process of freezing off her cheek. I hear a shout inside the house, then the front door is pulled open and Aella runs onto the porch in bare feet, pulling Lily into a hug. "We thought you guys were dead!" Judging by the big smile on her face, I think it's safe to assume that that's not true, but they were probably worried.

Lily laughs. "Clearly."

She hugs me as well, then runs back inside. We follow her down the hall. Everyone's sitting in the living room. We're greeted loudly. Agatha ushers us to the hearth. I sit in front of the roaring fire with Lily. Agatha drapes a blanket over each of us, concern creasing her wrinkled face.

I lock eyes with Gloss, who's sitting across the room. He raises his eyebrows questioningly, and I nod. I'll tell him later. I don't want to repeat it all in front of Lily. She's talking quietly with Aella, who's sitting on the floor in front of her. I don't know what Aella would ever do if she lost her. I can't even imagine what she must have been going through after the Reaping. She'd have Nicholas, but Lily says that there's something special about having a sister, especially when you don't have any parents. I look at Nicholas, Aella, and Leo. I think that despite being the only ones who weren't put in an arena, they've been through the most out of all of us. There's nothing worse than watching a loved one go through something so inhumane, so cruel, and be powerless to stop it.

A human being can only handle so much, and surely we've all been through enough. Unfortunately, our society seems to enjoy testing people to their breaking point, seeing how much they can handle before they crack. None of us have cracked, at least not yet. Somehow, I can't shake the feeling that that hasn't gone over well with the Capitol.

**AN: Thanks for reading, please review! **


	28. Victory Tour

**Lily**

The beginning of December comes and goes in a blur of long nights spent in Agatha's living room, sitting around the christmas tree and talking. We all decorated the tree together, which resulted in several broken ornaments and a layer of pine needles on Agatha's wooden floor. She didn't seem to mind. When Christmas arrives under a blanket of white snow, we don't exchange gifts, since the Capitol deemed that to be a waste of money many years ago. Instead we sit and talk about everything except the Victory Tour, which Marvel, Antonius and I will be leaving for tomorrow. We'll only be gone one day, since the Capitol wants everyone to be back for the Quarter Quell announcement, which is two days after Christmas. The thought of the Quarter Quell twists my stomach into a knot. I won't be mentoring this year, since Antonius needs to do it. Gloss has said that he's willing to be the other mentor. He's the most experienced of us all, besides Agatha, who hasn't mentored in years, and he'll be a good help to Antonius. It still makes me nervous, especially thinking of the horrors that past tributes of the Quarter Quells have endured. Aella and Leo still have their names in the Reaping bowls, though, luckily, neither of them needs extra food, so their names aren't in there more than necessary.

We sit at Agatha's dinner table until long after dark, then help her side up. I follow Aella onto the porch, into a flurry of snowflakes. My breath puffs out in white clouds. Everything is covered in a thin layer of snow, and I can't imagine a more beautiful sight. It's so tranquil, and everything seems to be muffled by the snow.

I wish everyone goodnight, then walk with Aella and Nicholas back home, a feeling of dread growing in the pit of my stomach.

**Marvel**

Lily gives Aella and Nicholas both a last hug, then follows me onto the train. The train arrived just before noon, so we should be in the Capitol about an hour before we're due for dinner. We'll eat dinner in the ballroom in the President's mansion, then attend a dance in honour of Antonius, who looks horribly pale. Lily and Antonius both stand by the window as the train squeals out of the station, watching Aella, Nicholas, and Leo disappear from their sight. Lily turns away first, walking over and sitting in one of the chairs. She doesn't say anything. Antonius comes over next, less steady on the moving floors than Lily, and drops onto the couch. The three of us are a pretty pathetic sight, slumped in various positions of defeat on the pristine furniture. We sit there for a long time, each of us lost in our own thoughts. Antonius is twisting his hands nervously.

Antonius breaks the silence after several hours of silence. "Are you going to see Palmer?"

I lift my head, accidentally locking eyes with Lily. She looks away. I've told him about it, and it's still too hard to think about. "Probably."

He looks at me. "I guess this is what I'm in for too."

I swear I can almost feel my heart breaking. "I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head. "It's not your fault."

I spend the rest of the train ride remembering that in twenty four hours we'll be home.

**Marvel**

We make our way up to the apartment without seeing anyone, which is a relief. We all go our seperate ways to prepare. I'm handed a collared shirt and black pants. My stylist doesn't touch my hair, and I'm done in less than ten minutes. I make my way back to the living room, running my hand along the cool metal banister of the stairs. I sit on the couch, watching the hour hand on the square metal clock tick slowly towards the six. Just before six, Lily comes out of her room, looking extremely annoyed, and pulling on the hem of her dress. Her hair is twisted up into a bun. I guess her stylists didn't try to straighten it this time.

She walks over and sits beside me on the couch, but doesn't make any move to touch me. Antonius comes out just before we're due downstairs, looking horribly pale. Lily and I stand up, and he follows us to the elevator. Lily wraps an arm around his shoulders. "Let's just get this over with."

We make our way down the carpeted hallways, towards the ballroom. Antonius doesn't say a word the whole time. We pause before the huge maple doors, and I turn to him. "Lily and I have to go in now, but you need to wait until they tell you to go. You'll just shake hands with Snow, then find your seat and sit down."

He nods. Lily is looking at him with sadness in her eyes. "We'll see you soon, all right?"

He nods again. I follow Lily into the room without looking back at him, although I can feel him looking at us. I feel awful leaving him standing there alone.

The ballroom is decorated lavishly, with garlands and several Christmas trees, all taller than anything I've ever seen. Their branches are woven with twinkling lights and icicles. I find myself wondering if the icicles are fake. They must be, if they're not melting.

I wish more than anything that I could take Lily's hand, but I can't. We've almost made it to the table when Foster appears in front of us. I haven't seen or talked to him since he sent Antonius that sponsor many months ago, but he clearly hasn't forgotten us. He's got a glass of the pink liquid in his hand. "Marvel!" he booms, shaking my hand vigorously. He grins at Lily and plants a kiss on the back of her hand.

"I'm so glad to see you two back here! We've missed you!" He looks so genuinely happy that I'm taken aback.

"We're glad to be back," I lie, smiling at him.

He doesn't seem to notice and just keeps grinning at us. "It's beautiful in here, isn't it?" He gestures around the room with a wide sweep of his arm.

I nod, looking around. "It's lovely," Lily says.

He waves to someone over our heads, then turns back to us. "That's my wife. I should go. I'll see you two around."

We both nod, then find the two seats with our names on it. Antonius's chair is right at the head of the massive table, which must seat at least forty, next to the President. We're two chairs down, so at least Antonius will know where we are.

We sit down, and the table slowly fills up with high ranking Capitol citizens. I see Palmer sit down at the other end of the table, beside a man who must be her father. I carefully avoid looking at her. The room dims, and the doors open. Antonius steps through, shaking hands with Snow, who smiles at him and claps him on the back. They walk to the head of the table together, and Antonius says something that causes the President to roar with laughter. I lock eyes with Antonius as he sits down, and relief floods over his face. Snow settles into his chair, then taps his wine glass with a fork, as if we're at a wedding. Everyone quiets down immediately.

"We're here tonight in honour of Antonius Fennell, victor of the 74th annual Hunger Games." A smattering of polite applause greets this announcement. "He overcame many obstacles on his way to victory, as all great victors must. Enjoy."

Everyone claps, and dozens of doors cleverly camouflaged to look like the dark red walls swing open. Avoxes pour into the room, placing more food than all of us could possibly eat on the table.

The chatter resumes, and Lily turns to me. "Why don't they take some of this food, even a quarter of it, and give it to the outlying districts?"

I shake my head, pushing a piece of bread around my plate with one of the many forks that were on the tablecloth. "I don't know."

Dessert is served after a little while, and there's even more of it than there was of the main course. I'm not hungry, even though I've hardly eaten anything. Lily's not eating much, and from what I can see, neither is Antonius. Snow taps his glass with his fork again, and everyone quiets down. "I hope you've enjoyed the meal. Let the dancing begin!"

Everyone stands up, and I follow suit. The avoxes pour back in, clearing the dishes quickly, then disassembling the table and carrying the pieces out. A small avox, who looks no older than Lily and I, hurries by, carrying a piece of varnished of wood. She steps on my foot, then pauses, turning towards me slowly and fearfully. I take a step back so that I won't be in the way, and she flinches as if I'm going to hit her. I just stare at her. She looks at me, relief in her eyes green eyes, then hurries away.

I look at Lily to see if she saw, but she's scanning the room, probably looking for Antonius, who's nowhere to be found. A band comes in, all dressed in black tuxedos, and begins to play. Palmer hasn't come over yet, and Gloss said it would be okay if Lily and I danced. I offer her my hand, faking a Capitol accent. "Would you care to dance?"

She smiles at me. "Of course." She follows me onto the dancefloor, then wraps her arms around my neck. I put a hand on her waist, and we join the crowd of people on the dance floor. The lights dim more, until it's pretty much only the small lights draped over the Christmas trees that provide any source of light.

We dance for a long time, swaying slowly in circles. Lily leans her head against my chest, and I hold her close, letting the music wash over us.

I look over the top of Lily's head at one point, during a silent moment as the band changes songs, and see Snow maneuvering his way through the crowd. I take a step back from Lily, holding her at arm's length, as he stops beside us. "Could I borrow Miss. Rhymer for a second?" His tone is pleasant. Lily, always composed, nods. "Of course, sir," she says.

He smiles at her, then looks at me. I just stare at him in a complete panic. Something like amusement glints in his eyes. I shouldn't have danced with her. This is all my fault. Lily begins to follow him through the crowd, but she looks over her shoulder at me. Her eyes are wide. She has no idea what Snow told me, no idea that she's what he'll take away from me.

"Lily, I-" I take a step forward, but she turns back around to look at me.

"Stay here," she mouths, then turns back around. They disappear into the crowd.

My heart feels like it's going to beat right out of my chest. Lily's right. I'll make it worse if I run after them. Surely he's not going to execute her during the middle of such an important event. I'm still standing in exactly the same spot when Palmer walks up to me. I don't even awknowledge her at first. She waves a hand in front of me, and I take my eyes off the spot where Lily and Snow vanished. I resist the urge to glare at her, and give her a tight smile instead.

"I had to sit with my dad," she says. "I couldn't find you afterwards."

I nod. "I couldn't find you either," I lie.

She nods as the lights dim once again. Lily and Snow haven't been gone for that long, but it feels like years. The band starts playing, and people around us begin dancing. Palmer clears her throat. "Do you want to dance?"

I should probably have asked her that, but I have no urge to dance with her. I remember what Snow told me, though, and take her hand. I don't hold her nearly as close as I was holding Lily, but she keeps moving closer. I keep glancing over her head at the spot where Lily and Snow disappeared.

I'm looking over Palmer's head once again when she pulls away from me. She scowls up at me in frustration, then looks over her shoulder. She, of course, doesn't know what just happened, but she's clearly getting annoyed with me. "We could go upstairs," she says.

"No," I say, far too quickly. I try to cover it quickly. "I'm having a great time dancing."

She nods, wrapping her arms back around my neck. This time, when she tries to get closer, I don't stop her.

**Lily**

As I follow him down the carpeted hallways, I'm completely baffled as to why Snow asked me to come with him. Were Marvel and I not supposed to dance? I know we're not supposed to be together, but I figured dancing was all right as long as Palmer wasn't there. The thought of her makes me feel sick. All of these people make me feel sick.

Snow stops at a glass door on the left, and I'm so lost in my thoughts that I almost walk right in to him. I stop in time, and he holds the door open for me. I step through, looking around. It appears that we're outside, but it's warm, unlike the snow that I know is outside our apartment window. Flowers bloom, and a bird swoops overhead. Several people mill about, most of them holding hands.

Snow is watching me carefully. "It's lovely in here, isn't it?"

I nod in agreement. "How is it so warm?"

He begins walking, and I fall into step beside him. "It's our engineers' newest creation. We're actually inside right now, but the new glass," he points up at the roof, which is shrouded in darkness, "allows the flora to prosper as if it's in its natural habitat. When it rains outside, it rains in here. There are sensors built into the glass."

We make our way down a stone path. I can hear a trickling noise somewhere. It must be a pond. The path is lit with small lanterns, which are suspended from the trees that line the path. It reminds me of the greenhouse upstairs, thirteen floors above us, where I used to go with Marvel.

Once I can't see anymore people, Snow stops and turns to me. "This won't make any sense to you, but this was mostly a warning for Marvel."

I nod slowly, wondering what he's talking about. "When you get back to the ballroom, I'd like you to tell him that."

"All right," I say.

He glances at a silver watch on his wrist. "We've been gone long enough," he mutters, more to himself than me. "You may go," he says, looking back at me.

"Thank you, sir," I say, turning and making my way back up the path.

"Wait," he calls, and I turn around again. He raises his eyebrows. "Enjoy your time, all right?"

I stare at him. "Of course," I say.

He nods. "Make sure you do."

I turn back around and resist the urge to run towards the ballroom.

I push open the heavy doors to the ballroom, planning to go find Marvel. I make my way through the crowd, back to the spot where we were when I left. He's there, but so is Palmer. He sees me over the top of her head and relief washes over his face. I give him a weak smile, embarrassed by the jealousy that engulfs me. It's ridiculous. How could I be so selfish? He's going through much worse than I am. I make my way back through the crowd, but Antonious steps in front of me.

"Where have you been?" I ask him, relieved that he's managing fine.

"I was sitting over there," he says, pointing at a group of tables in the corner. "I was talking to Foster, the guy who sponsored me."

I nod. "He's nice," I say. "A bit rowdy though."

Antonius laughs. "He's drunk out of his mind."

The band starts another song, and Antonius gives me a mock bow, offering me his hand. "Would the lady like to dance?"

I laugh. "I'd love to."

I follow him onto the dancefloor. We dance in silence for awhile. At one point the crowd parts, and I catch a glimpse of Marvel and Palmer, still dancing. Marvel looks completely miserable, and I feel sadness wash over me. Antonius sees me looking, and looks over his shoulder.

"You're his entire world," he says, turning back to me.

**Marvel**

Relief floods over me as soon as I see Lily, but she disappears just as fast as she appeared. I feel a lot better as soon as I know she's all right, though. During a break between songs, Palmer steps back, but doesn't let go of my hand. Her eyes fill with tears. I'm surprised, but if she thinks she's getting any affection from me, she's mistaken. A tear runs down her cheek, leaving a trail of mascara. I think of all the times I've brushed tears off Lily's cheeks. The thought leaves a strange feeling, something like guilt, in my chest.

Palmer brushes the tear away impatiently. "What is it?" I ask, tyring to convey a sympathetic tone.

"It's just something my dad told me," she says. "About the Quarter Quell." If I recall correctly, her dad is a high ranking gamemaker, and is Snow's right hand man. The thought sends a chill down my spine.

The loud screech of a microphone interrupts us. Snow starts congratulating everyone, except the avoxes, who did all the work, on the successful night, but I'm more interested in what Palmer was trying to tell me.

I turn back to her, trying to yell over the microphone. "What was it?" I ask her.

"It's about the Quarter Quell," she says. "I heard my dad, he-"

She pauses mid sentence as a man appears out of the crowd, smiling at her. Her face pales, but she smiles at him, the colour returning to her cheeks.

"Dad! This is Marvel," she says, grabbing the man's hand and pulling him towards her.

He stretches out his free hand and shakes my hand. "I know who he is," he says, smiling at her. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir," I say.

"We should be going, Palmer," he says. I look around. Most people are heading towards the door. She looks like she's about to tell me what she was going to say, but thinks better of it. I'm guessing she wasn't supposed to tell anyone.

Palmer's dad, who's clearly not in the mood for small talk, begins walking away. Palmer says goodbye, then goes to follow her father. "I'll see you soon, all right?"

Her dad turns around at this, shooting Palmer a look. Her eyes widen, as if she's just realized the impact of what she said, and tries to backpedal. "I mean, if you mentor, then I'll see you soon."

Her father, looking incredibly angry, grabs her wrist. "Goodbye, Marvel."

"Bye," I say. I wait until they've passed through the door, then head off in search of Lily and Antonius. I search the entire room, but they're nowhere to be found, so I decide to head back up to the apartment. I ride the elevator alone, relieved that no one gets on with me, and arrive in the apartment. Lily and Antonius are both sitting in the living room, playing chess on the coffee table. They look up as I come in.

Lily's changed into pajama pants and a sweater. I sit beside her on the couch. No one says anything for a moment.

Lily clears her throat. "Are you all right?"

"I should be the one asking you that."

"I asked first," she says with a small laugh.

"I'm fine," I say, and I mean it. Assuming I don't mentor this year, which will most likely be the case, will mean that I won't have to see Palmer for a long time. Snow can't make me come here.

"Me too," Lily says. "Snow told me to tell you that him taking me was a warning. I have no idea what that means, but he said it would make sense to you."

I can feel the colour drain from my face. "All right," is all I manage. I can tell that she wants to ask me more, but she doesn't, instead turning back towards Antonius.

"What about you?" she asks him. "Are you all right?"

He nods. "I'm fine."

After a little while, once him and Lily are done their game of chess, Antonius stands up, saying he's going to bed. I wish him goodnight, noticing that the colour is back in his cheeks.

He climbs the stairs and disappears from sight. I turn to Lily, who's lining up the chess pieces on their proper squares.

"I'm sorry we couldn't dance," I say.

She looks up. "It's not your fault," she says. "Not at all."

"I think you spend half your life telling me it's not my fault," I say, smiling at her.

She laughs. "Well, it's not."

We're quiet for a moment. "You do know I don't like Palmer, right?"

She answers almost immediately, but her second of hesitation is enough for me to realize what she's feeling. "Of course I do."

I fight back the urge to take her hand. After seeing footage of this very couch in Snow's office, I know better. "Well, if you were having any doubts, I don't. Not one bit."

She nods, focusing on running her hand back and forth along the velvet material of the couch. "It's just that she's so pretty, and she obviously really likes you. I just don't see how you couldn't-"

"She's not you, Lily. That's why," I say.

She stops running her hand along the velvet and looks up at me, giving me a small smile.

"Is that enough for you?" I smile at her.

She smiles back and nods. "I think so."

I stand up, once again resisting the urge to pull her into my arms, take her hand, something. "I'll see you in the morning, all right?"

She nods. "All right."

**AN: It's been so long! Sorry! I had this huge project due, and I really needed to work on it. Thanks for reading! The Quarter Quell announcement will be next chapter. **


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